Missing You
by HeroPower
Summary: In the sequel to Breaking the Society's Hold, Jaden and Alexis are now dating. However, their relationship may spell trouble as forces are on the move to tear them apart. Remake of the original Missing. Set in Jaden's POV.
1. First Night Together

Disclaimer: I don't own GX. Never have, never will.

* * *

Author's Note: And now I finally get around to writing the remake of the second story in the Breaking the Hold series. ...It occurs to me I need a better name for these series of fanfics.

* * *

I've said Alexis and I had more troubles to go through after we became boyfriend and girlfriend. Well, this was probably the first one.

Some time had passed since I beat Chazz and ended the Society of Light for good. I was getting ready to take Alexis on a date wh- Y'know, this was a pretty boring thing, actually. Let's just skip to when the big stuff happened.

* * *

"So, how was it?" Syrus asked, prying into my love life just as I returned from my date.

"None of your business." I said, lying back on my bed.

"But c'mon, Sarge!" Hassleberry cried. "You're the only one of us with a girlfriend. We need this information for when we have girlfriends!"

Hassleberry too?

"You too, Hassleberry?" I asked. Stop it, me!

"Hey!" Syrus shouted. "I have a girlfriend!"

"Card crushes don't count as girlfriends." Hassleberry said.

"She's real, I tell you!" Syrus yelled. "Duel Monster Spirit Day is coming up soon! I'll prove to you she's real then!"

"Well, you two enjoy your fight." I said, yawning. "Jaden need to catch up on sleep."

Yeah, while I was finally back on my usual sleeping schedule after defeating the Society, I still needed to make up for all the sleep I lost.

And I would have gotten it too, if not for one little thing. Two heads hanging down to look into my bunk.

"What is it now?" I asked my roomies as they smiled wildly.

"You have to tell us this much." Hassleberry said.

"Have you kissed her yet?" Syrus asked.

"What?!" I shouted. "Why would you two wanna know that?!"

"Well, Hassleberry hasn't had his first kiss yet, and I only got a cheek smooch from Dark Magician Girl, so..." Syrus started.

"And since you're the Sarge and all..." Hassleberry added.

"Well, don't ask me." I said with a shrug.

"What?" Syrus asked.

"Aw, Sarge, that's no fair." Hassleberry grumbled, leaning back into his bunk. "Private Truesdale gave you advice."

"Wait, Hassleberry, I don't think that's what he means." Syrus said, before gulping. "J-Jaden, you have kissed someone before, right?"

"Piece of cake!" I said.

"Oh, so you don't want to tell us because it's easier than we think it is?" Hassleberry asked.

"No. I mean I kissed a piece of cake." I explained. "It was so sweet and tasty, and delicious, I just had to proclaim my undying love for it!"

...Yeah, needless to say, I was hoping my first kiss with Alexis wouldn't end the same way things ended with the cake. Though I did hope it would taste as good!

"Wow, Sarge..." Hassleberry muttered. What? Nothing gets in the way of my stomach, especially not the best looking piece of cake ever!

"You know, Jaden, if you wait too long for this, Alexis might get the impression you don't like her." Syrus said, nodding his head.

"Oh, what would you know?" I asked. "You've been pecked on the cheek by a spirit!"

"Defensiveness." Hassleberry said. "The first sign someone is getting worried."

"I'm not worried." I said. "You guys just want to know about my love life so you don't have to try as hard when you have girlfriends!"

"No, we're not!" Syrus and Hassleberry shouted in unison.

"Defensiveness." I mocked.

Before we could get into a good ol' roommate argument, there was a knock at the door.

"Shoot!" Syrus said. "Someone must have sent in a noise complaint."

'I'm shocked they didn't do it sooner.' I thought as I got out of bed and walked to the door.

You know what's a beautiful sight? Seeing your girlfriend standing outside your room. What's less beautiful is seeing your girlfriend standing outside your room, drenched by the rain. ...Uh, I mean... You get the point! Alexis had been standing out in the rain!

"Jaden..." Alexis said, trying her best to sound strong.

Alexis tries her best never to show any signs of weakness. It's pretty admirable of her. But there are times when I can see past her tough exterior and see her inner sadness. ...And by that, I mean, I can do that for every last person I know. I am, in fact, a superhero. Super Emotion Detection is my power! It doesn't help much in stopping crime, but it saves the world a lot! Yep!

"What happened?" I asked, as I walked Alexis into the room.

"Chazz took his room back." Alexis said.

Yeah, the room Alexis had been staying in was given to her by Chazz. She had decided to stay at the Red Dorms because her brother and Crowler wanted her to become a pop idol. This was also, presumably, the reason Atticus was now pushing the two of us, after he heard something about a student at another Academy becoming an idol after dating the best duelist at that Academy. That's irrelevant to any of this, but I like stroking my ego!

"You could just go back to Obelisk Blue." Hassleberry said.

"Yeah, but then I'd be pressured to become an idol." Alexis said, sitting down at the desk.

"Look, I'll talk to Crowler in the morning, but for now..." I gulped. "...you could stay here."

"Really?!" Alexis asked, her face brightening a bit.

"What?!" My roomies shouted in shock.

'Whoops, forgot I had roommates for a second.' I thought to myself.

"You don't mind, right, guys?" I asked, rubbing my hands together sheepishly. Wait, sheep don't have hands. "It's only for one night."

"Jaden, Doctor Crowler might have been willing to help get you back to stop the Society of Light, but that doesn't mean your best friends now!" Syrus shouted.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Hassleberry said. "But when the common enemy is gone, they go back to being enemies! He'll use this as fodder to get you expelled."

"Oh, I'm sure Dr. C won't mind." I said.

"Since when has he allowed you to call him Dr. C?" Syrus asked.

"We're the best of buds!" I shouted. We weren't.

"Look, even if Doctor Crowler is fine with it, Vice Chancellor Bonaparte won't be." Alexis said. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to be the reason that the Silfer dorms are torn down."

"I bet Chancellor Sheppard would be cool with it." I said.

"Yeah, but he's still off doing who knows what." Syrus pointed out.

"Okay, look!" I shouted. "We still have dirt on Bonaparte! He trapped me in that forest! If he tries anything, I'll threaten to sue!"

No, that wasn't the reason Bonaparte got to stick around. The whole forest affair would slip my mind shortly after this.

Syrus climbed up to Hassleberry's bunk and the two had a mini-conference while Alexis and I looked on.

After a few minutes, Syrus crawled back down to his bed.

"We've talked it over." Syrus said.

"Private Rhodes can stay here." Hassleberry said.

"As long as she's fine with it." Syrus added.

"Well, Lex?" I asked, as we all turned our attention to her.

"Um, well..." Alexis said, looking at the floor. "If you guys are kicked out of the Academy because of me, I'll feel guilty for life."

"Alexis, I've put my life on the line for more serious matters." I reminded her.

"But that was for the sake of the world." Alexis pointed out.

"I'd put my life on the line just to protect you." I said, before adding a few awkward seconds later, "Or any of my friends." Nice save, huh?

"Well, if you're sure..." Alexis said.

Yeah, I asked her later. Turns out, she'd planned to take the rap if we were caught. A guy who will put his life on the line for his friends, and a girl who will lie about anything to protect her friends. We were made for each other.

* * *

Thankfully, for the most part, the night was normal. I had pulled out a spare sleeping bag and slept on the floor. What? You expect me to let my girlfriend lie on the floor? Fat chance!

For most of the night, things were quiet. However, at... very late in the night! I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Mm... What is it?" I muttered, pulling myself out of the sleeping bag.

"Hey, Jaden?" Atticus' voice rang through the door.

"Oh no..." I heard Syrus mutter from his bed.

I quickly shot Sy a look, saying "Be as quiet as possible."

Walking over to the door, I opened it a sliver.

"What's up?" I asked. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Do you?" Atticus asked. Hey, I asked first! "I went by Lexi's room to talk to her, but she's not there."

"We're dooooooomed..." I heard Syrus whisper from under a pillow.

"And you're first instinct is to ask me because..." I started.

"Two teenagers in the hot thrall of passionate love, on an island..." Atticus suggested, resulting in me blushing DEEP! "Things happen."

"Not between us." I hissed. "Look, after our date tonight, she said she was going to the Lyin Berry."

"Oh, alright." Atticus said, before looking back at me and tilting his head. "The Lying Berry?"

"Y'know, that booky place." I started explaining. "Where everyone is supposed to be quiet and they have a card catalog that doesn't involve actual Duel Monster cards?"

I could hear Syrus slapping his forehead behind me. Just to clarify, I DO know what the Library is! I was just very tired and the blood wasn't flowing to my brain. Plus, with all the worry, it made the word "Library" into "Lying Berry". We all understand, right? Good!

"Alright..." Atticus said with a look of confusion on his face. "I think I know where you're talking about. Thanks."

"What... do you need her for anyway?" I asked.

"We need to discuss her next date with you." Atticus said, smiling widely.

"Thanks..." I muttered sarcastically. "Well, see ya in the AM."

"It is the AM." Atticus pointed out before putting on a pleasant smile. "But good night."

I crawled back into the sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep. Really, I should have been wondering why Atticus was up so late, but hey, I was dead-tired. I'd ask him some other time. ...Just like I'd get Bonaparte fired. Look, I'll go make the call in a few minutes, okay?

* * *

I woke up the next day to Alexis staring at me while sitting in my bed.

"Good morning." I said with a smile on my face.

"You know, for someone who snores and drools in the middle of class, when you sleep at night, you look pretty cute." Alexis said, smiling one of the cutest smiles I ever woke up to. ...But only because it was the only smile I woke up to that wasn't my parents, Syrus, Chumley or Hassleberry. Or that one time Chazz sent Ojama Yellow to wake me up, but that hadn't happened yet, so... Where was I?

I managed to pull myself enough out of the sleeping bag and after shaking it off my leg, proceeded to bolt off to the outhouse to change into my uniform.

"So, where are Syrus and Hassleberry?" I asked, walking back in.

"At the Lying Berry." Alexis said, with a giggle. An honest-to-Horakhty giggle!

"I was tired, alright?" I asked, blushing slightly.

"Don't worry." Alexis said with a smile. "I thought it was cute." That girl really knows how to make a guy feel dumb and good at the same time.

"So, are they really there, or not?" I asked.

"They said they were gonna see if any rooms were available." Alexis said.

I couldn't help but smile. Even though I had sprung this on them and asked the world of them, they were still trying to help.

"Well, we should ask Crowler if he can help before class starts." I said.

"Right!" Alexis said with a nod.

And so, we headed to the Chancellor's office. However, we were not prepared for who would be there before us.

* * *

Author's Note: So, while Breaking the Society's Hold was pretty faithful to the original Breaking the Hold, just fixing some of the dumb things and expanding on a few concepts, Missing You, as can be seen here, is a bit more erratic. Whereas the first chapter of Breaking the Society's Hold was made of the first three chapters of Breaking the Hold, Missing You chapter 1 was made of Missing's first, second and fifth chapter. Yeah.

Expect other larger changes. Especially to the, uh... revelation, as the fans who read the original would know.


	2. Last Night Together

Disclaimer: So, I probably don't need to do a disclaimer for every chapter, but it's funnier that way! So, it's a good thing I don't own GX.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

* * *

Alexis and I had finally reached Chancellor Crowler's office after a brisk run. Okay, so my perfect late record would officially be over, but if it would get Alexis back in the Obelisk dorms, I'd make the sacrifice!

However, as we entered... Well, I saw a blur before I was tackled to the ground.

"JADEY-POO!" Someone cried out.

Once my senses returned to me, I felt two arms wrapped around me, and a face brushing against my own.

"Blair?" I asked, after remembering the face that was now against my own.

"Oh, Jaden!" Blair cried out. "It must be fate that my beloved walks in at the same time I'm here."

Oh, great, another destiny nut.

"B-Blair, what are you doing here?" I asked, as she finally got off of me.

I happened to look around, and after seeing the immense death glare Alexis was shooting both of us, I saw Crowler walking over.

"Ah, I see you're already acquainted with our new student, Miss Flannigan, eh, Slacker?" Crowler asked.

"New student?" I asked. "Okay, one, she was a member of Slifer Red for a few days. And two, she's too young to be here!"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Crowler asked. "Miss Flannigan skipped several grades and managed to complete the Duel Academy Entrance Exams early."

"You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted. "She's in Third Grade! She still has three more years before she can join Duel Academy!"

Alexis, Blair and Crowler all shot me confused looks, before Crowler stifled a laugh.

"Jaden..." Alexis started. "She'd need to be in Seventh Grade for that to be true. Duel Academy starts at Tenth."

I thought for a second before saying, "Dumb math!"

"If you're having trouble with your school work, you should ask Miss Flannigan here." Crowler said, smirking vilely. Again, thanks, Bastion! "She skipped from Second to Ninth Grade in two years."

"So, you're like a super genius?" I asked Blair.

"Yeah." Blair nodded. "Though, I did have the proper motivation."

An Elementary School student skipping straight to High School! Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?!

"Still, I'm only here to make sure I like it." Blair said, smiling.

Crowler knelt down to me and began to whisper. "Her parents are very influential. Make sure she likes it here."

With that, Crowler stood back up and patted me on the back.

"So, Jaden, my lad, why don't you show her around the island?" Crowler demanded more than asked.

"Actually, sir, I had something I needed to talk to you about." I said.

"Oh, and what is that?" Crowler asked.

"You know how you and Atticus ran Alexis out of the Blue Dorm by asking her to be an idol?" I asked. "Well, I was wondering if you could call that whole thing off. Chazz kinda reclaimed the room she was staying in, and now she doesn't have any place to stay."

"Hm? Chazz did that?" Crowler asked. "When?"

"This morning." Alexis said.

"Last night." I said at the same time.

Alexis quickly shot me another glare.

"Last night, you say?" Crowler asked. "Well, she must have found a place to stay last night. A vicious storm was raging. She should be able to stay there. Unless there's some reason she couldn't stay there again?"

HE KNEW! HE KNEW SHE STAYED IN MY ROOM! ABORT MISSION!

"Dr. C, I saved the island, actually the whole world, from the Society of Light!" I shot back. "Don't you think you can help me this one time?"

"Of course." Crowler said, nodding. "And because of that, I will help you this once. I'll overlook however Alexis could possibly have stayed dry in last night's storm."

I just stared at Crowler with an annoyed look for a second.

"Things are never gonna be good between us, will they, teach?" I asked.

"Nope!" Crowler gleefully cried. "Now, go take Blair for a tour of the island, before I change my mind."

'He's got me!' I shouted in my head. 'I'm gonna be stuck doing favors for him until Chancellor Sheppard gets back!'

Sighing heavily, I left the office, along with Alexis and Blair.

"Oh, don't worry about showing me around, Jadey-poo." Blair cooed. "I know where everything is. Just spending time with you is enough."

"Um, Blair, about your little crush on me." I started.

"Jaden's already got a girlfriend, so back off a bit!" Alexis said harshly, wrapping her arm around me. Man, she's hot when she's mad!

"You know, Alexis, you shouldn't be so quick to tell me off." Blair said, wrapping her arms around one of mine. "Didn't you hear Doctor Crowler? My parents are very influential. I could end things for you if I wanted."

And with that, Blair went skipping away, but not before calling out, "See you seen, Jadey-poo!"

"I am not poo!" I yelled back, before quickly looking at Alexis. "I don't have any interest in dating her."

"I know, Jaden." Alexis said, with a sigh. "I guess when your boyfriend is the greatest duelist at the Academy, this is the kind of thing you have to put up with."

Cue a big beam of a smile across my face.

"You know exactly how to cheer me up!" I said.

"Oh, shoot!" Alexis said, spotting a clock. "We need to get to class!"

"Bolt it?" I asked.

"Bolt it." Alexis said with a smile.

* * *

After the two of us rushed to class (with two minutes to spare!), we waited until lunch period to talk with Syrus and Hassleberry.

"You really have no leads?" I asked, leaning back.

"No, sorry." Syrus said. "All the rooms are full. No one had a vacancy."

"The school year is almost over." Hassleberry explained. "Just wait out the rest of the time in our room, and once the new year starts, some rooms should have opened up."

"We don't have the time for that." I growled. "Crowler knows we kept Alexis in our room last night!"

Okay, so I didn't actually shout that. Our voices were low. But this looks cooler!

"How?!" Syrus and Hassleberry shouted. Again, not really...

"I may have let word slip that she lost her room last night..." I muttered.

"What about Jasmine and Mindy?" Alexis asked, quickly changing the topic. Ah, that girl saves my butt again!

"They have a new roommate." Syrus said. "Some girl who's visiting until the end of the year to make sure the Academy is right."

'Blair!' I shouted in my head. 'Crowler must want Lex and I apart...'

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"Your girlfriend needs a place to stay?" A voice asked behind us.

I looked back to see Aster standing behind us.

"Aster." I said with a smile. "What's up?"

"I was hoping to try out my new Destiny Hero against you." Aster said. "But I see you have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Hey, I'm up for a duel if you are." I said.

Alexis cleared her throat.

"Err... I mean, after I settle our current problem." I said. "Crowler should be helping, but noooo! He has to mock us!"

"So, that explains the call I got earlier." Aster said.

"Huh?" Alexis, Syrus, Hassleberry and I asked.

"I've had my own little room made some time back." Aster explained. "With Sartorius controlling the Blue Dorm, I couldn't stay in any of the rooms, so I had my own place made. But seeing as I can stay in my assigned room now, I suppose I wouldn't be against letting you use it."

"And you're just telling us this now!?" Hassleberry asked.

"Why would you just give it to us?" I asked.

"You helped me out." Aster said. "After all, you saved my best friend from being controlled by the Light of Destruction."

"While you were off galavanting with your legal guardian." I said, bitterly.

"Destroying the OTHER half of the Light of Destruction." Aster corrected. "But I do owe you for bailing on you like that."

"Wait, aren't you in Obelisk Blue?" Alexis asked.

"I can have my dorm flown to Slifer if you want." Aster said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Uh... Yeah... Do that..." I said, amazed.

'When I'm a pro-duelist, I'll be able to do all this for Alexis.' I thought, while sneering to myself.

After Aster made the call, I decided to grill him a bit.

"Now, hang on a second, Aster." I said. "How do we know this place is secure? That someone, by which I mean Chazz, won't just barge in and try to attack Alexis?"

"My room was built in order to keep the Society of Light out." Aster said. "Alexis will be safe."

"And why are you suddenly so keen on helping me?" I asked. "Do you think doing this will somehow impress Alexis enough to make her fall for you?"

"I told you." Aster said, pocketing his phone. "I don't intend to be in your debt. Besides, you can't duel with your girlfriend roomless. I want you at your best when we duel. The Neo-Spacian cards you created against the ultimate Destiny Hero my father created. If we're going to prove which is stronger, I need you fighting at your zenith."

"Zenith?" I asked.

"Your highest point." Aster explained. "The greatest duel you've ever participated in."

Actually, my greatest duel at Duel Academy wouldn't be until a year from then, and that's not even counting any future duels after that, but that has nothing to do with this story.

Aster quickly wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Alexis.

"There's an electronic lock." Aster explained. "You'll need to type this code in to get in."

"Thank you, Aster." Alexis said.

"You don't need to thank me." Aster said, before directing his eyes at me. "But once she's settled in, you can thank me by giving me the duel I want."

"You got it, Aster!" I said.

"And if you lose, I'll just tell Crowler to expel you for keeping a girl in your room." Aster said.

"He already knows." I said, smirking.

So, Aster would give Alexis his room, and Crowler was helping me. Sure, Chazz needed another good kick like the one at the docks, and I needed to find a way to evade Blair, but everything was turning up Jay!

* * *

When class let out for the day, and we headed back to the Slifer dorms, we saw a giant castle next to the dorms! ...Okay, so it wasn't giant and it wasn't a castle, but hey, it was the size of an apartment! Pretty good when put against the Slifer Dorms, even I'll admit.

Meanwhile, in Alexis' old room, Chazz was hauling things out.

"Hey, Chazz!" I called, smirking. "How's it going?"

"Just getting this trash out of MY room." Chazz said.

And cue a glare from me.

"C'mon, Lex." I said, walking up the steps. "Let's get your stuff into your amazing new room that I found for you."

"You're the one who made that new room?!" Chazz shouted.

"Yep!" I said.

'Well, Aster made it, I got him to give it to Lex, buuuut...' I thought to myself.

"We'll help!" Syrus said.

"Well, I'll help." Hassleberry said with a laugh.

"Thanks, guys." Alexis said.

* * *

And so began the great relocation of Alexis' stuff to her new room. Oh, the laughs we had! It's amazing the fun you can have doing mundane activities with your friends.

But that's beside the point. ...Is it beside, or besides? Because usually you say besides, but beside makes sense too... Oh, never mind!

As we were moving the boxes Chazz was clearing out of the room, I happened to notice one by my room.

"Hey, Chazz!" I yelled. "Watch where you put those boxes! You're starting to spill over to other people's rooms!"

Now, if my door was broken, I wouldn't be upset. A nice spring breeze blowing in would be fine. But I doubted the other Slifers felt the same.

"I didn't put anything in front of your room, Slacker!" Chazz said, heaving another box into the pile outside his room.

"Huh?" I asked, picking up the box.

"Jaden, don't open it!" Syrus yelled. "It could be a bomb, sent by a new enemy!"

"Hassleberry, you need to stop telling Syrus war stories to go to sleep on." I said, looking at Hassleberry.

"Who's it addressed to?" Alexis asked.

"Me, actually." I said, somewhat shocked.

"Well, don't leave us in suspense, Sarge!" Hassleberry called.

"But Chazz could have put a bomb in there!" Syrus yelled.

"I didn't put the box there!" Chazz yelled again.

I shook the box to ease Syrus' fears, before tearing it open. Inside sat a red cell phone. Hey, whoever sent it must know me well!

"It's a cell phone!" I called. "Ha! Take that, Aster! Now you're not the only one with a cell phone!"

"Yeah, but he's still richer than you." Chazz said with a smirk.

I just rolled my eyes, before noticing I already had a text.

"Weird." I said, opening it.

"Enjoy the night." The text read. "It will be the last good night you will have."

"A-yup!" I said, after reading the text aloud. "New enemy!"

"Chazz..." Alexis growled.

"It wasn't me!" Chazz shouted. "Why does everyone always think it's me?!"

Cue Alexis, Syrus, Hassleberry and me all shooting Chazz a dry look.

"Oh, like I'd buy the Slacker a phone if I was gonna threaten him!" Chazz said. "I'd sooner use news paper clippings!"

"You tell 'im, Boss!" Ojama Yellow said, appearing on Chazz's shoulder.

Oh, yeah, after I beat him, Chazz finally went back to that old well and got his Ojama cards back.

"Well, whoever this is, we can take 'em!" I said, putting the cell phone in my pocket.

Once we finished moving everything, we looked over Alexis' new room. Larger living quarters, with more seating and a bigger television than Chazz's room! Fully stocked mini-fridge! A bedroom with a queen-sized mattress! That could be fun!

So, as you can guess, we stayed there for the rest of the day! This would be our new hangout! But things don't always go as planned.

* * *

After Syrus and Hassleberry had gone back to our room to give Alexis and I some alone time, we decided to go for a short walk.

"Well, look like our third year will be great!" I cried out, stretching.

"Heh, yeah." Alexis said, smiling. "I have to admit, when I first enrolled, I never expect to have my own apartment by the end of my second year. Or a boyfriend as great as you."

I blushed and smiled at that last one.

"Yeah, well, at least you lived in the Obelisk dorms." I said. "Might as well have been an apartment."

"Oh, don't try to play it off like this is nothing, big guy." Alexis said, lightly punching my shoulder. "It might have been Aster's room, but it's only because of you I got it."

"What can I say?" I asked, walking backwards to look at Lex. "I'm awesome!"

Alexis stopped and turned to look at the Lighthouse, smiling sweetly.

"Y'know, Jaden..." Alexis started as I walked next to her. "...before I came here, I would talk to Zane whenever he was on vacation."

"He visited you on vacation?" I asked.

"Yeah." Alexis said. "He would give me updates about the case of my brother. And he'd tell me how amazing Duel Academy was. I didn't believe any of it could be true. The only amazing thing here was him. But now? He was definitely right. Duel Academy is the most amazing place in the world!"

Well, I couldn't argue. We just stood there, looking at the horizon. I guess knowing we would soon have only one year left here started getting to us.

* * *

After our stroll, we headed back to our rooms. I made sure to be as quiet as possible. Syrus and Hassleberry were already snoring away when I got back. Unfortunately, they'd wake up shortly afterwards.

A loud sound filled the room as my new cell phone went off.

"I'm up, Sarge!" Hassleberry sprung up.

"What is that noise?!" Syrus shouted, holding his ears.

I quickly fished out my cell phone and saw a text.

"Have you been to your girlfriend's room recently?" The text read. Scrolling down, I could see a picture of Alexis, knocked out and tied with ropes.

And cue me rushing to Alexis' room! When I got there, the door was already opened. I rushed in and saw signs of a struggle. And Aster!

* * *

Author's Note: So, generally, I don't try to add anything too original to these fics. I might make a small reference to something from my old RP days here and there, but that's about it. However, I decided to explain Blair being at Duel Academy by her parents having connections. Why? Even in the original Japanese version of GX, where Blair is older, she's still not high school age. However, you CAN assume she skipped a couple grades. The English version, however, that's still a stretch.

Also, this is adapted from the original third, fourth and sixth chapters. However, I cut the duel between Jaden and Aster. Why? Well, I wanted it over and done with originally. Now? I know better. It's better to just cut the duel entirely than have Aster lose in one move without making an effort. I would like to apologize for that in hindsight.


	3. The Investigation

Disclaimer: I don't own GX.

* * *

"Aster!" I yelled, grabbing him by the collar. "What did you do to Alexis?"

"I didn't do any of this!" Aster said, slapping my hands away. "I got a call about someone breaking into my room! I figured Alexis just set something off, so I came here to tell her about it!"

"And how can I believe that?!" I asked.

"I can show you the call log!" Aster said, holding up his cell phone.

Sure enough, there was a call from his security company.

I could only drop to my knees and pound my fists against the ground. This was my fault!

Alexis had been kidnapped by someone targeting me. She was kidnapped in the room I managed to get for her! She had been kidnapped because she was close to me! I couldn't stand it!

It's one thing when some mystic force captures my friends. But this? This wasn't magic! As far as I could tell, this was mundane!

'I know who did this!' I thought as I stood up.

Syrus and Hassleberry were running to the room when I brushed past them.

"Jaden, what's wrong?" Syrus asked.

"What happened, Sarge?" Hassleberry asked.

I walked straight to Chazz's room. Then I kicked the door open!

"Slacker, what are you doing?!" Chazz yelled. "That door cost me more than you'll ever make in a month!" Oh, thanks for insinuating I'll end up working a drive-thru rather than be King of Games!

Now, I would have said as much to him, if anger hadn't gotten the better of me, and I swiftly... kicked him in the "gut".

"So it was you who kicked me at the docks!" Chazz cried out in pain.

That's when Syrus and Hassleberry came running in.

"Jaden, what's going on?!" Syrus asked.

"And why is the enemy holding his gut?" Hassleberry said. But he didn't say gut.

"Princeton kidnapped Alexis." I said, rage fueling my voice.

"Kidnapped Alexis?" Chazz asked, voice returning to normal. "Why would I do that? What is wrong with this guy?"

"Jay, calm down." Syrus said, as Hassleberry ran over and kept me from throttling Chazz! "What happened?"

And so I explained everything I've already explained to you.

Even Chazz looked on in shock after I explained everything.

"She was kidnapped because I took this room back?" Chazz asked.

"No." Syrus said.

"Yes!" I shouted over Syrus. "Although, that's only if you didn't kidnap her yourself!"

"Let me see the crime scene." Chazz said, walking past us.

* * *

So the four of us made our way to Alexis' old room. I was willing to let Chazz play his little game. He HAD found out when the Dark Scorpions stole the Spirit Gate keys. If he wasn't the kidnapper himself, he may be able to find something.

Syrus, Hassleberry and myself watched Chazz as he looked around, keeping our eyes to make sure he didn't disturb anything at the crime scene.

"Aha!" Chazz yelled, while leaning under Alexis' bed.

"What is it?" I asked.

Chazz lifted up a piece of broken glass with dried blood on it.

"Clearly there was a scuffle!" Chazz said, in his best detective voice. "Alexis must have knocked down a vase or a picture frame, cut her attacker with it and hid the evidence under her bed to give us an important clue!"

Syrus and Hassleberry clapped.

"Y'know, Private, maybe I was wrong about you." Hassleberry said. "You might not be such a bad guy after all. Temper that attitude of yours, and you'd make a good member of our battalion!"

"Don't get me wrong!" Chazz yelled. "I'm not helping because we're friends! I don't even care about Alexis dating the Slacker anymore! But if it really is my fault she got kidnapped, I'll never be able to live with myself. At the very least, I'll renounce the Princeton name. I refuse to besmirch it anymore than it already has been by my brothers."

"Yeah, well, I still have some reservations about you helping us." I said. "Prove to me you didn't do this!"

"Honestly!" Ojama Yellow shouted, appearing on Chazz's shoulder. "The Boss had nothing to do with this! He was busy fixing up his new room!"

"It did look a little more organized than it did earlier." I said.

"That's because I've been working all night!" Chazz yelled.

"Alright." I said. "I'll keep from reporting you to the police for now." You'd THINK that would remind me to alert the authorities about Bonaparte, huh?

"Now, if you three don't mind, I think I'll bust for fingerprints." Chazz said. "But in order to do that, I'll need each of yours."

"Hey, we can all vouch for each other!" I said.

"You three were in here earlier, right?" Chazz asked. "I'll need to separate your fingerprints from anyone else's I find."

"And you just happen to have the ink to do it?" Syrus asked.

"My hobbies are none of your business, shorty." Chazz said.

"This used to be Aster's room." I pointed out. "You might want to get his prints too."

"Right." Chazz said, nodding. "I want to ask him a few questions anyway. Like why he left the scene of the crime. But before anything else..."

Chazz quickly placed his Ojama Yellow card under the bed.

"If the criminal returns to the scene of the crime, I'll have one of my men stationed here." Chazz explained.

Ojama Yellow flew right up to me and began dancing in front of my face. "Did you hear that? Boss admitted I'm one of his men."

"I'm getting into my role!" Chazz shouted as I smiled. After calming down, Chazz added, "I'll place another in Aster's room. I doubt he'd be dumb enough to talk about a crime in his own room, but the kidnapper may have been after him. Then I'll try to leave the last stooge with Jasmine and Mindy. The kidnapper may just be after girls."

As Chazz led Syrus and Hassleberry back to his room to get their prints, I made sure to hide Neo-Spacian Dark Panther in Alexis' room too.

* * *

Once the fingerprinting was done... That makes it sound like I printed something from a computer out of my fingers... Anyway, once that was done, Syrus, Hassleberry and me headed back to our room.

"I can't believe we're relying on Chazz!" I shouted as I crawled into my bed.

"I can't believe how efficient he is!" Hassleberry said, clearly impressed.

"I should have been there for her." I muttered.

"You couldn't have known this would happen." Syrus said. "We'll report it to Doctor Crowler tomorrow, and..."

"He could be the one who did it!" I yelled. "He clearly still hates me! And he asked Aster to provide Alexis a room."

"But he wouldn't go after Alexis." Syrus said. "She's an Obelisk."

"WAS an Obelisk." Hassleberry pointed out. "Personally, I think it's Aster Phoenix himself. He just so happened to get there before you did, Sarge? And he provided the room in the first place."

"It could have been Chazz." Syrus hypothesized. That's the word, right? "He seems too eager to help. I don't buy that he spent all that time cleaning up his new room. He could have had someone help him. Plus, with so much money, he could have hired someone to do it."

* * *

We traded a few theories on how each person could have pulled it off. But eventually, we all had to get some rest. Stressful day, even more stressful night, we were very tired.

Thing is, I forgot how, when I'm upset, my brain likes to betray me!

See, now I was dreaming of major events in my and Alexis' relationship!

It was after Syrus and I had gotten back from the girl's dorm, during my and Alexis' duel on the lake. Ah, our first duel...

Sy and I were settling back in, when someone knocked on the door. Seems to be a common occurrence, doesn't it? Someone knocking on our door in the middle of the night!

"Wha is it?!" I groaned as I pulled myself to the floor, then to the door.

I opened it and saw Alexis standing there.

"Lex!" I said. "Wh-What are you doing here? I already won Sy and my freedom."

"Don't worry, Jaden." Alexis laughed. "It's nothing like that. Did you lose something?"

Alexis then held up a standard issue Duel Academy PDA.

"Uh..." I murmured as I realized I didn't have it on me. "How did you know I lost this?"

"I checked to see if the message I sent you was there." Alexis said. "Don't worry, I didn't check any other messages."

"Thanks." I said, as I reached out for the PDA.

Thing is, once I grabbed it, my hand overlapped with Alexis'. I felt my cheeks grow warmer. Yeah, I was full on blushing! But why? I mean, I never touched hands with a girl I thought was cute, but... Yeah! That was why!

"Uh... thanks again." I said, quickly grabbing the PDA from above.

"You're welcome." Alexis said, finally letting go of the device.

"Do you need someone to walk you back?" I asked.

"No." Alexis said. "I know this island pretty well myself."

"Alright." I said. "G'night."

"Good night, Jaden." Alexis said. "Sweet dreams."

And then she left. I quickly closed the doors and crawled back into my bed, confused why my cheeks would feel warm.

That was the first time I had any indication that I liked Alexis as more than just a friend who happened to be a highly attractive girl.

* * *

Normally, these wouldn't be nightmares. However, when you feel so much guilt over not saving your girlfriend.

'I get it!' I yelled to my own mental state. 'I could have saved her! I'm doing my best!'

Having enough of the endless torment that was my own mind, I decided to clear my mind. Or, rather...

I ran across Academy Island to tucker myself out! If I couldn't stay asleep, I'd sure as heck make sure my body couldn't handle staying up!

Now, when I say "ran across Academy Island", of course I don't mean all over the island, just randomly running wherever.

At one point, I saw a helicopter start to land one the heliport.

"That could be the kidnapper, getting away!" I shouted.

Flare Scarab appeared next to me.

"Jaden, you must calm down." Flare Scarab said.

"How can I?" I asked. "This is all my fault! If Alexis wasn't in her new room, she wouldn't have been kidnapped. She wouldn't be in the new room if Chazz hadn't taken the old room back! Chazz wouldn't have taken that room back if I wasn't dating her! No matter how I look at this, it's all my fault!"

"There is no reason to believe she wouldn't have been kidnapped in her old room." Scarab pointed out.

"Still!" I said. "The criminal is targeting her to get to me! Crowler, Chazz, Aster... It doesn't matter who did it! The reason is because of me!"

"Talking to yourself?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned around to see Blair, taking a stroll across the island.

"Blair?" I asked. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Jaden, I'm a pre-teen who is away from Mommy and Daddy for the first time. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you want to explore the wide island you were just enrolled to?"

Y'know, I couldn't argue. After all, I did always want to be trapped in a toy store all night long when I was young.

"Still, you could be in danger!" I shouted. "Look, you can't tell anyone, but someone kidnapped Alexis."

"So, you're available then?" Blair asked with an innocent smile.

"Uh... No!" I yelled. "But if someone is going around kidnapping people, you could be in danger!"

"Why would I be in danger?" Blair asked. "After all, we're soul mates. Who would dare tear us apart?"

'Wait a minute...' My sleep-deprived mind started up. 'Her parents are influential. She could have called someone up to kidnap Alexis!'

Okay, not my most rational thought, but I STILL say it had some merit.

"You did it, didn't you?!" I shouted.

"What?" Blair asked, looking genuinely hurt.

"You got rid of Alexis so you could have me all to yourself." I said.

"Jaden, I would never!" Blair cried out.

"Ha!" I said. "Yeah, right! And this coming from the girl who uses the Maiden in Love? Force others to love you! After all, we're soulmates, right?!"

Okay, I'm officially not proud at all for this. Especially not after Blair ran off crying.

"Blair, wait!" I called out after her.

But she just continued to run off, crying.

"Smooth, Yuki..." I muttered to myself.

"So, do you want me to try talking to her cards?" Flare Scarab asked, crossing his arms.

I just shot him a glare. Sleep-deprived, worried Jaden no good at talking to people.

I went back to my room and tried to get some sleep. Didn't work. I kept waking up all night from nightmares.

* * *

So, the next day, as we were walking to class, Syrus and Hassleberry had to keep waking me up on the walk. Yeah, my body had gone into auto-pilot. In fairness, developing a way to walk and sleep at the same time probably wasn't my BEST idea, but I never knew it'd be used this way!

"Come on, Jaden." Syrus said. "Just go back and we'll tell Crowler you're sick."

"Can't tell Crowler I'm sick." I said, half-groggy. "He a suspect. Besides, he think that because Alexis absent too, we got each other sick last night."

"Okay, you need to wake up, because I'm having an easier time understanding Hassleberry." Syrus said.

"Sarge, you can't lead us while you're tired." Hassleberry said.

"I not tired." I said. "I just need a nap. I get it in class."

"You sound like a caveman!" Syrus yelled.

Before I could shoot back a retort, my cell phone went off. I quickly answered it. Syrus and Hassleberry looked at me.

"Well?" Hassleberry asked.

"Is it..." Syrus started.

"Yeah." I said. "A text from the kidnapper."

* * *

Author's Note: So, for bonus fun while waiting for the next chapter, try and guess who the kidnapper is in either the reviews or PMs. I won't say much, but I will tell you this. The kidnapper has at least been name-dropped, if not appeared. It's not gonna be something dumb like Franz or Bob Banter from the Genex arc appearing with no foreshadowing.


	4. Suffering from Stress

Disclaimer: I don't own GX. Sadly, I have not acquired the rights to it in this month of near-inactivity.

* * *

I stared at the confirmation message for a few seconds. Look, I'll admit, I was a little nervous. It wasn't something that happened often, but hey, it could be a picture of a dead Alexis. Or an amputated Alexis. Or who knows what else!

Gulping down, I decided, now or never, and opened it.

"Meet me tomorrow, before class, in front of the Abandoned Dorm." The text read. Oh, not that place again!

"The Abandoned Dorm, huh?" I asked. "Is that where Alexis is being kept?"

"I knew it!" Syrus shouted. "Her brother is leading a doomsday cult to summon the evil lord Nightshroud to the world in Alexis' body!"

"Okay, Syrus, not only is that HIGHLY unlikely." I started. "But if anyone's older brother would do that, it'd be yours. And he'd be dueling me some place grand, like in front of the Academy or something."

"Honestly, Private Truesdale, where do you get these ridiculous theories?" Hassleberry asked, as he began to walk ahead of us.

"From you!" Syrus shouted.

* * *

The incident with the text had woken me up enough that I was able to make it to class before crashing at my desk. Thankfully, now that I knew I'd have a chance to find the kidnapper, I was able to sleep a bit more soundly. It would have been a lot easier without the teachers tossing chalk at me all day!

Thankfully, my friends woke me up for lunch!

"Mmm!" I cried out as I ate my lunch. "Food is good!"

"Yeah, you've said that a million times." Syrus groaned.

"The same amount of times you've gotten food on us." Hassleberry said.

"Sorry, guys." I said between gulps. "But I need to get my energy back. Didn't sleep much, remember?"

"Keep it down." We heard someone growl.

The three of us looked back to see Chazz glaring at us.

"I was up all night dusting for fingerprints." Chazz groaned. "And unlike the Slacker, I don't intend to sleep during class."

"You find anything?" I asked.

"Yeah." Chazz said. "Sets of fingerprints from three slackers and Alexis."

Chazz grabbed his head.

"Whoever kidnapped Alexis must be smarter than I thought." Chazz said.

'You didn't expect the person who kidnapped Alexis to be that dumb, did you?' I thought.

"Come on, Private Princeton!" Hassleberry said, trying to encourage Chazz. "I know you can do it!"

"Maybe the reason he can't find anything is because he did it!" Syrus yelled.

"I said QUIET!" Chazz said, wrapping his arms around his head. "Before I tell Slacker which one of you went through Alexis' drawers."

"Wasn't me!" Both said in unison.

I gave my friends a quick stare for a second, before writing it off as a lie Chazz was telling to scare them.

"Oh!" I said, remembering the text. "By the way, Chazz, I got a text from the kidnapper about the Abandoned Dorm."

"WHAT?!" Chazz yelled, leaning over a few seats to get closer to us. "He texted you!?"

"Y-Yeah." I said. "That's how I knew Alexis was in danger in the first place."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Chazz asked, indignantly. ...That works, right?

"I didn't know it would be important." I said.

"I could trace the number!" Chazz said, holding out his hand. "Give me the phone!"

I reached into my pocket and passed the phone on to Chazz.

"I'll only need it for the day." Chazz said.

"Well, we have until tomorrow morning." I said. "The kidnapper wants me to meet him in front of the Abandoned Dorm tomorrow before class."

"I'll do my best." Chazz said.

I gotta hand it to Chazz. Despite Syrus suspecting him, and even having some suspicion at him myself, if he wasn't the criminal, I could respect him. He seemed to genuinely feel bad that his mistake led to Alexis being kidnapped.

"Let's just hope the kidnapper isn't using some shadow powers." Chazz muttered, before pocketing my phone and taking a nap.

I finished my meal and joined Chazz in snooze-town. Of course, he probably left before I did, since I slept through all of class that day. Again, when not awoken to killer chalk.

* * *

Once class went out, Chazz met me in front of the school.

"If the killer texts anything, I'll let you know over our PDAs." Chazz explained. "What are you going to do?"

"I think I'll go look around the Abandoned Dorm." I explained. "Syrus and Hassleberry are asking around, seeing if anyone found her."

"At least they're good for something." Chazz muttered. "Listen, Slacker, I said it before, but this doesn't mean we're friends, got it?! After this, we go back to being rivals. I'm only helping you to ease my guilt."

"Whatever you say, Chazz." I said with a chuckle.

"Rest assured that with Inspector Chazz on the case, Alexis will be found before your meeting with the kidnapper tomorrow." Chazz said.

"Got it." I said.

"Speaking of which, I know you can't be talked out of it, but I want to make sure you're aware of this fact." Chazz said gravely. "There's every chance this meet-up is a trap. You could be walking in to your own death."

"I know." I said. "But it's my fault Alexis got kidnapped. If I hadn't been dating her, you wouldn't have taken that room back."

"Oh, of course I would." Chazz said. "A guy can only get rejected so many times before he gets the hint. Well, most guys." Wait, are you insulting me?!

* * *

Regardless of the insults, I left Chazz to his devices, and made my way to the Abandoned Dorm. But I wasn't alone.

...No, it wasn't the kidnapper! At least, he wasn't one of our main suspects.

"Atticus?" I asked as I walked up.

"Oh, Jaden. Hey." Atticus said, in a less than enthusiastic voice.

"What's up, man?" I asked. "I haven't heard you this down since the Shadow Rider stuff died down."

"Chazz told me about Alexis." Atticus explained.

"I'll kill 'im!" I growled.

"Don't worry." Atticus said. "I haven't told anyone else."

"The, uh, kidnapper texted me that he intends to meet me here tomorrow." I explained.

"Whoa!" Atticus said, quickly jumping back to his normal, bombastic attitude. "You don't think I'm the kidnapper, do you?!"

"What?" I asked. "Of course not!"

"Whew..." Atticus sighed in relief. "Chazz asked me last night if I had taken Alexis so you'd pull off some kind of hero moment."

'What does Chazz think we're into?' I thought.

"Nah." I said. "You wouldn't even go this far. But what are you doing here?"

"This is where I ended up turning into Nightshroud." Atticus said. "I guess you could say this is where I go to escape the real world."

I stared worriedly at Atticus.

"Not that I plan to give into that darkness again!" Atticus said quickly. "But I usually try to be all happy-smiles around people. Coming to a place like this lets me be alone with my thoughts."

"Oh, sorry for disturbing you then." I said, turning to leave. "I'll just come by later."

"No, you can stay." Atticus said. "After all, you're dating my sister. That practically makes you family."

"We called off the engagement." I said. "It's not like we're gonna get married."

"But you have kissed her, right?" Atticus asked, elbowing me in the side.

"Uh..." I said, looking away.

Okay, so I wasn't making out with every cute girl in sight, like other guys my age were! Give me a break!

"Oh!" Atticus cried. "When you see her next, you should give her a huge, heroic kiss!"

"You know, I didn't think you did this." I said. "Now I'm starting to have doubts."

I made sure to smile to make sure he knew I was joking. After he saw I was, he burst off laughing.

"Thanks, little bro." Atticus said. "That actually made me feel better."

"Little bro?" I asked.

"Hey, I said you're family." Atticus said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "If you're dating my little sister, that makes you my little brother."

"Y'know, after playing the older brother figure for Syrus and Hassleberry, it's nice to know there's someone I can turn to." I said with a chuckle. "When I was younger, my parents were never around, and for whatever reason, all the older kids I'd play with always ended up in the hospital."

Atticus gave me an odd look.

"It stopped after awhile!" I quickly added. "But as you can guess, that meant I didn't exactly have many people to hang with."

"Well, you do now, buddy." Atticus said, patting me on the back. "Never feel like you can't come to me for help."

"Thanks, Bro." I said. "But, really, I should be heading back to my room. I didn't get much sleep."

"That's understandable." Atticus said, before closing his eyes and putting on a huge smile. "Just remember you need your sleep to stay healthy."

"Got it." I said, before walking off.

Thing is, as I got further away, I could swear I heard Atticus talking to someone. I brushed it off as my tired mind.

* * *

Once I got back to my room, I crashed. A good twelve hours of sleep, with not one nightmare. Instead, I dreamed of the usual. Beating the King of Games, Yugi Muto. I mean, c'mon. I was gonna save Alexis tomorrow.

When I finally woke up, I felt as refreshed as ever. Or, I would have, if I woke up on my own. Instead, I saw a yellow blob in front of my face.

"What the..." I muttered.

As my eyes adjusted, I could tell the figure in front of me was ethereal. Ojama Yellow.

"Thank goodness! You're finally awake!" The spirit cried.

"What do you want?" I muttered, half asleep.

"Jaden, it's terrible!" Ojama Yellow yelled. "Come quick!"

"Is Chazz on fire?" I asked.

"No." Ojama Yellow said.

"Then Jaden continue greatest sleep of his life." I said, before promptly pulling the covers over my head.

"But it's important!" Ojama Yellow yelled.

"Fine, I'm up!" I shouted, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"You gotta get to the infirmary!" Ojama Yellow cried.

* * *

I quickly put on my clothes and rushed down to the nurse's office. When I got there, well, I was surprised.

Atticus, who I had been talking to not fourteen hours earlier was now stuck in a bed in the infirmary. Chazz was standing by the bed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I went to investigate around the Abandoned Dorm last night." Chazz explained. "See if I could get any leads on our kidnapper. But all I found was Atticus, passed out in front of the place."

"Atticus..." I muttered.

"According to Miss Fontaine, there are no signs of any injuries." Chazz explained. "At least, not on the outside."

"So, you mean, he put himself into a coma because he felt bad?" I asked.

"Of course not!" Chazz shouted. "She had to attend to another patient, but said something about running scans on his brain and heart."

"Who's the other patient?" I asked.

Chazz just shrugged. "Anyway, I'll keep an eye on him. You have to go confront that kidnapper, right?"

"Oh, shoot!" I said, remembering my little appointment. "You're right!"

"Before you go." Chazz said, his voice suddenly losing that bit of bitterness it has even in his down moments. "I've got some people looking into that cell phone. They should get back to me any minute. I'll call you up on your PDA ASAP."

"O.K." I said.

I laughed before leaving to get Syrus and Hassleberry to confront the kidnapper. I do nothing without them.

* * *

But when I got back...

"What do you mean Syrus isn't here!?" I shouted.

"Private Truesdale said he got a call this morning and would be back before we had to find the kidnapper." Hassleberry explained.

"Maybe he went to the Abandoned Dorm too." I said, pacing back and forth. "You two are always competing to be my best friend. Maybe he went there in an attempt to prove he's my best friend, by finding the kidnapper and Alexis ahead of time."

"Private Truesdale's in danger?" Hassleberry asked, before running out of the room.

"It's just a theory!" I called out before running after Hassleberry.

* * *

Once we got to the Abandoned Dorm, we saw my theory was at least half-right.

Syrus was on the ground in front of the dorm.

"Syrus!" I yelled, running over.

"Sam hill!" Hassleberry cried out, running over and lifting our fallen comrade up. "What happened to you?"

"You didn't come here looking for the criminal, did you?" I asked.

"No..." Syrus said weakly.

Syrus slowly lifted himself to his feet, supporting himself on Hassleberry's shoulder. Well, as best as he could.

"I got a call to come here and duel..." Syrus said, still weak.

"From who?" Hassleberry asked, looking around.

Suddenly, my PDA began to ring. I pulled it out.

"Jaden!" Chazz said, as he appeared on the PDA. "I've found out where those calls came from!"

Before the message Chazz sent me could say it, I got my answer.

The person who had kidnapped Alexis, attacked Atticus, dueled Syrus had walked out from behind the Abandoned Dorm.

"It was me."

Zane Truesdale.

* * *

Author's Note: Remember when I said I changed the kidnapper? I lied. Not that it really mattered. Haven't gotten a lot of reviews. Not complaining, mind you. Just commenting on the near uselessness of my lie. Though, I suppose it may have given any fans of the older version something to maul over.

On another note, I'm thinking of calling this series of fanfics the "Hero series". Why? ...There are reasons. But the major thing is, it sounds a heck of a lot better than referring to it as the "Breaking the Hold series". So, expect to see more references to this as the "Hero Series". Ironic, given my username change, I know.


	5. The Pressure of Perfection

Disclaimer: Considering the long wait between chapters 3 and 4 was because it took me a long time to write this chapter, it's probably a good thing I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

* * *

Author's Note: I'd like to thank the people that have reviewed. Also, sorry for not putting that last chapter. I kinda rushed that one once I got to work on this one.

* * *

"Zane?!" I asked in shock, seeing my former upperclassman stand before me.

"Jaden." Zane growled. "It took you long enough. Syrus here wasn't a good enough challenge for me. But the new King of the Academy? You should do."

"Do?" I asked. "Do for what?"

"What else?" Zane asked. "Duel!"

Zane activated his Duel Disk.

"Oh, I've been meaning to snap you out of whatever funk you've been in!" I said.

Alright, guess I should explain this for anyone who didn't hear. See, just before I dueled Aster Phoenix for the second time, Zane lost to him. He was a little depressed, and somehow got taken into Underground dueling. Fun times! He start losing respect for his opponents, and for his monsters. Now, why hadn't I solved this problem yet? I refer you to the sinister cult taking over Duel Academy Island and aiming for the world. It was kinda the more immediate, and on hand to solve, problem at the time.

But now? Things were different.

"Why did you kidnap Alexis?!" I asked. "You know I'd gladly duel you without the hostage."

"Two reasons." Zane said, holding up two fingers. "One, insurance."

Zane then held up a brief case. Inside were a metal neckband and two metal armbands. Looking up at Zane, I could see he had these on his neck.

"You offer everyone you duel jewelry?" I joked.

"Oh, they're not jewelry, but yes, I do expect my opponent's to wear them." Zane said. "They're electrodes. They make the duel more intense."

A vaguely recalled hearing that when Zane dueled some dog-man, they shocked him. Even if I didn't remember that, even I'm smart enough to know what electrode means. Though, I thought they were more round.

"You expect me to electrify myself?" I asked.

"As long as you don't want anything to happen to Alexis." Zane said.

"What have you done with her?!" I shouted.

"All you need to know is that, if you don't use my electrodes, I'll have an affiliate of mine make sure one of you feels the pain." Zane said. "Of course, her pain might end faster than yours would."

Normally, I'd be dumb enough to think he was saying he'd let her go. But after two days of stress, my mind quickly filled with the possibilities. Putting these shock collars on her instead, slitting her throat Chazz-style, dropping her in the ocean. My mind was racing.

"Fine! I'll wear them!" I said, as I snatched the devices. "And the other reason?"

"If you win, I'll have Alexis returned." Zane said. "But if I win, she'll become my Queen."

"What!?" I asked.

"Every King needs a Queen, right?" Zane asked. "Once I dethrone that hack, Yugi Muto, and take my rightful place as King of Games, Alexis Rhodes will be the Queen of Games. She's the only person I can think of worthy of the title."

Oh, joy. This is just a repeat of Chazz, only crazier. At least Chazz used a conventional weapon. Zane? He's using shock collars!

"Jaden, don't do it..." Syrus groaned. "He's not like he used to be."

"I never run from a challenge, Sy." I said, activating my Duel Disk. "Besides, I'll have him beaten in two turns."

"You're so certain?" Zane asked, as we drew our hand of five cards.

"So certain I'm willing to let you go first." I said. Alright, so it also helped to keep him from summoning out Cyber Dragon on his first turn. But, hey, I love trash talk.

"Someone is over confident." Zane said, drawing a card from his deck. "I summon Exploder Dragon in Attack Mode, and end my turn!"

A dragon holding what appeared to be some sort of egg appeared on Zane's field. It only had 1000 Attack Points though. Amateur mistake.

"My turn!" I shouted, drawing a card. "I summon Sparkman in Attack Mode!"

Sparkman appeared before me.

"Now, attack Exploder Dragon!" I called out.

Sparkman shot a blast of lightning at the dragon. Despite Exploder Dragon being destroyed, the egg it held flew out of the smoke, landing at Sparkman's feet. Sparkman looked down, just in time to be destroyed when the "egg" detonated.

"When Exploder Dragon is destroyed, the monster that destroyed it is destroyed as well." Zane said.

"You still lose 600 Life Points!" I said.

"Pathetic." Zane said. "When my Dragon is involved in battle, no Battle Damage is taken by either player."

"I'll end my turn by laying down a face-down!" I said, setting a card.

"JADEN!" I heard a voice bellow.

Turning my attention, I saw Chazz running up.

"Chazz, what's wrong?" I asked.

"You won't answer your PDA, that's what!" Chazz shouted. Hey! I have a cell phone now. Call it! "Do you remember that other patient Miss Fontaine had to attend to?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"It was Chancellor Sheppard." Chazz said.

"Chancellor Sheppard?!" I asked. "When did he get back here?"

"He was flown in recently." Chazz explained. "It seems he was attacked by someone and electrocuted. I got the full story from him. It was Zane who did it."

"The old man tried to stop me." Zane said. "First he kept me from the Underworld deck, then when I acted on my plans to go after the students at Duel Academy, he hunted me down and tried to stop me again."

"So, I guess you went after Atticus too!" Chazz shouted.

"Of course." Zane said. "He was my former rival. However, whereas he's remained as strong as ever, I've gotten stronger!"

Go crazy and start disrespecting fellow duelists, kidnap Alexis, attack Sheppard, Atticus and Syrus. Oh, heck no! I definitely wasn't going to let Zane walk away after this!

"Now if you don't mind, I have a duel to win." Zane said, drawing a card from his deck. "I play Pot of Greed. This allows me to draw two cards."

Okay, Zane didn't really say that, because... who among us didn't know what the card did. But I love uselessly explaining what cards do.

"I summon Cyber Valley!" Zane called, after drawing his two cards.

This weird, cybernetic snake-like... thing appeared on Zane's field. 0 Attack and Defense Points. No problem.

"Now, I activate Cyber Valley's effect!" Zane called out.

Okay, problem.

"I can remove from play Valley, along with one card in my hand, and return one card from my graveyard to my hand!" Zane explained. "So, I'll remove Cyber Ouroboros and Cyber Valley from play to return Pot of Greed to my hand!"

Pocket the two cards, grab Pot of Greed as it slides out of the graveyard, yada yada.

"Of course, I can't play the card returned by Valley's effect until next turn." Zane explained. "But why not draw again! When Cyber Ouroboros is removed from play, I can send one card from my hand to the graveyard to draw one card from my deck!"

Card goes to the grave, card is drawn from deck, yada yada.

"And look at that." Zane said. "I'll play it. Graceful Charity!"

Draw three cards, discard two, yada ya- Wait, Zane was drawing a lot and sending a lot of cards to the graveyard. It was like he was looking for something.

"Now, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn!" Zane called out.

So, field recap. I have a face-down in front of me, Zane has two in front of him. We both had 4000 Life Points left. It was now my second turn. ...Look, I was cocky, alright?

"I'll activate Polymerization!" I called out after drawing the card from my deck. "I'll fuse Bubbleman and Clayman to summon Elemental Hero Mudballman!"

Bubbleman and Clayman appeared before me, before combining into Mudballman, who landed in between me and Zane. FINALLY! A MONSTER ON THE FIELD!

"Now, Mudballman, attack Zane directly!" I called out.

Mudballman went to punch Zane, only for one of his face-down cards to activate.

"Go, Power Wall!" Zane called. "I can send cards from my deck to the graveyard, and for each, the damage I receive is reduced by 100! So why not reduce all of the damage!"

19 cards went from the deck to the grave, as a wall appeared between Zane and Mudballman. Mudballman destroyed it, but Zane's Life Points remained the same.

"I'll end my turn." I said.

"That was a risky move." Hassleberry said.

"I know." Chazz responded. "That was more than half his deck. What is Zane playing at?"

"I'll play Pot of Greed!" Zane said, drawing two cards. "Next, I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon."

A more low-tech, less sleek version of Cyber Dragon appeared. 1100 Attack Points.

"Uh, Zane, I don't know if going crazy made you worse at math, but even I know 1100 is lower than 1900." I said.

"Of course I know that!" Zane snapped. "But Proto-Cyber Dragon, when on the field, is considered the same as Cyber Dragon. Which means I can use this! Power Bond! I fuse the Proto-Cyber Dragon on my field with the Cyber Dragon in my hand!"

A true blue Cyber Dragon appeared on Zane's field next to the prototype, before the two combined into the Cyber Twin Dragon. With Power Bond's effect, Cyber Twin Dragon's Attack doubled to 5400.

"One attack to destroy Mudballman." Zane said. "And then one attack to finish you! Cyber Twin Dragon, go! Double Strident Blast!"

"I activate Negate Attack!" I called out, as my face-down turned up. "This stops your attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn." Zane said.

"And now Power Bond takes 2800 of your Life Points!" I yelled.

"Not so fast!" Zane called, as his first face-down turned face-up. "Fusion Guard! When an effect would cause me damage, I can negate the damage at te cost of one random Fusion Monster!"

Cyber End Dragon appeared between Zane and Cyber Twin Dragon and took the blast that was meant for Zane.

"Cyber End Dragon?!" I asked in shock. "But that was your favorite monster."

"WAS!" Zane yelled, glaring at me. "Things have changed! Now, take your turn!"

"You're not the only one with Pot of Greed!" I called, as I held up the card and drew two cards from my deck. "And look at that, another Polymerization! I think I'll use it to fuse Elemental Hero Wildheart with Necroshade to summon out Elemental Hero Necroid Shaman!"

Wildheart and Necroshade appeared on the field, twisted together and Shaman jumped out where they had combined.

"When Necroid Shaman is summoned, I can destroy one monster on your field!" I said, pointing at Cyber Twin Dragon.

Shaman began reciting a chant and swinging his staff over the field. Cyber Twin Dragon shattered, and Proto-Cyber Dragon rose in it's place.

"Of course, a monster from your graveyard returns to the field." I said. "But since both of my monsters have 1900 Attack Points, and your monster only has 1100, I'm not worried. Necroid Shaman, attack Proto-Cyber Dragon!"

Shaman leaped at Proto-Cyber Dragon, hit it with his staff, and the resulting destruction took Zane's Life Points down to 3200. A jolt of electricity shot through Zane's body, causing him to cry out. It looked quite painful.

"M-Mudballman, attack Zane directly." I said, not wanting to cause Zane too much pain.

Mudballman managed to connect his punch this time. Well, connect as much as a hologram can. Zane's Life Points dropped to 1300. Another shot of electricity ran through Zane's body, causing another scream.

"YES!" Zane growled loudly. "This is the thrill I live for! Don't worry, Jaden! I'll return the favor when my turn comes around."

Gulping, I set my last card face-down. "I'll lay down a face-down and end my turn."

Zane drew his card and smirked one of the most sinister and insane smirks I've ever seen.

"Finally." Zane said. "The last part I need. I activate Rebirth Judgment! This card allows to to declare one Type. Then, all the monsters in my graveyard become that type. And I think I'll choose Dragon!"

"Dragon? Why?" I asked.

"THIS IS WHY!" Zane called, holding up Polymerization.

"Jaden, watch out!" Syrus cried out.

"I fuse Cyberdark Horn, Cyberdark Edge and Cyberdark Keel together to summon CYBERDARK DRAGON!" Zane shouted.

Three... I don't even know how to describe them, outside of malevolent-looking monsters appeared on Zane's field. The three monsters joined together, taking the form of a malevolent, cybernetic dragon. Thankfully, it only had 1000 Attack Points.

"That doesn't look so tough!" I called out.

"When Cyberdark Dragon is summoned, I can pull one Dragon-Type monster from the graveyard, and equip it to my dragon in order to increase it's Attack Points by the same as the equipped monster's!" Zane explained. "And seeing as it is the strongest in either of our graveyards, I choose Cyber End Dragon!"

Cyber End Dragon rose on to the field, only to be entrapped within Cyberdark Dragon's wings. Wires attached from Cyberdark Dragon to Cyber End Dragon. Cyberdark Dragon's Attack Points increased to 5000.

"But that's not all!" Zane said. "Cyberdark Dragon gains 100 Attack Points for every card in the graveyard!"

For those who haven't been counting, Exploder Dragon, the card discarded by Cyber Ouroboros' effect, Graceful Charity and the two cards it discarded, Power Wall and the 19 card it sent to the grave, Pot of Greed, Power Bond and Cyber Dragon, Fusion Guard, Cyber Twin Dragon and Proto-Cyber Dragon, the three Cyberdark monsters and Polymerization. 35 cards in total. 3500 additional Attack Points gave Cyberdark Dragon a near unbelievable 8500 Attack Points. It started to 1000!

"Cyberdark Dragon, attack Mudballman!" Zane declared.

"I activate Draining Shield!" I cried out.

As Cyberdark Dragon shot a blast at Mudballman, a shield covered him, and increased my Life Points to 12500. Now THAT is unbelievable!

"You'll regret increasing your Life Points that high when you feel every last one lost." Zane said, tapping his shock collar. "I end my turn."

"I'll switch Mudballman and Necroid Shaman to Defense Mode!" I said. "Then end my turn."

1800 and 3000. Not the best defense, but it'd do.

"That's about all Jaden can do." I heard Chazz mutter. You could tell this was getting serious. He used my real name!

"That's just what's to be expected from a fool who thinks he has a chance to win." Zane said.

"Oh, c'mon." I said. "Back before you went 'in-zane', you would have praised me for knowing when not to run head first in, or something."

"What could you possibly know about me?!" Zane shouted. "You're just a kid!"

"Hey, that's an insult to kids!" I said, jokingly.

"You run your mouth like a blithering fool, unaware to the struggles of a true professional!" Zane yelled. Hm. Blithering... I see someone was using his word-of-the-day-calender I bought him at the end of last year.

"Then tell me about it." I said with a sneer.

"You've just sat around your whole life, having fun, playing around." Zane growled. "You've never known what it was like to have expectations put on you! By my parents!"

I'd just like to remind everyone that my parents were never home, but go on, Zane. Keep ranting about how terrible it was to have your parents around all the time.

"By my brother!" Zane shouted, shocking Syrus. "By my friends! All of them looked up to me to be strong, to be perfect!"

Chazz even started to get a little annoyed. Maybe it was because his brothers used to put pressure on him.

"I figured once I graduated and entered the professional field, I'd finally have time for myself." Zane said. "But it's worse! Do you have any idea what being a professional is like?!"

"Do you?" I asked, pointing to the electro-band around my neck.

"It's terrible!" Zane shouted. "You can't be yourself! You have to be whatever the crowd wants! If the fans have an interest in something, you have to mention it every chance you get! And whatever that is changes all of the time! If you don't, you're thrown under the bus! It doesn't matter what you have to do! There were times when I was called to defend someone who cheated simply because the crowd loved that person! Then there were times when I had to vilify someone who worked hard and did so good, but someone claimed that they cheated or that they attacked their opponent!"

Zane's knees actually began to buckle as his face scrunched up in what I can only guess was sadness.

"You can't even complain to those vultures!" Zane yelled. "Oh, sure, even when I'd had a terrible day, there were people who had it worse! People who didn't get into the pro league because of Duel Academy. People who went from nothing to the top of the game! People who manipulate others into feeling bad for them, even if all of it was lies!"

At that point, the sadness, if that's what it was, left Zane's face, and in it's place was a look of contempt.

"All my life, I've striven to meet everyone's expectations! But there you are!" Zane yelled, hands curling into fists. "Blind to the truth! You get to stand around all day and enjoy dreams of the Pro League, ignorant to the pressure it puts on you, to the price you have to pay! I can't tell you the number of times I've had to spew garbage out, just so the crowd wouldn't target me next! That's the truth of the Pro League, Jaden Yuki! It is impossible for a Pro Duelist to remain himself! You become a slave to whatever trend, whatever flavor of the week your audience is suddenly interested in! Just to stay on top!"

"Pro Duelists are the heroes of young duelists everywhere!" I shouted back.

"Heroes?" Zane said with a chuckle. "I'll tell you something, Jaden. Part of me actually admires how your naivety allows you to cling to that dumb idea that there are still heroes out there. BUT IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP! HEROES ARE DEAD! All that's left are villains who put up the act of a hero, but couldn't care less about anything. So I figure, why even put up the front? I'm a villain, through and through! NOW LET ME SHOW YOU!"

Zane drew a card from his deck.

"I summon Infernal Dragon!" Zane called out.

A green dragon with pitch black wings and a hook for a tail appeared on the field. 2000 Attack Points. On a four star monster? Not good!

"Now, I attack Necroid Shaman with Infernal Dragon!" Zane yelled.

Infernal Dragon smashed it's tail into Necroid Shaman. Necroid Shaman grabbed hold of Infernal Dragon's tail, and the two shattered together.

"But Necroid Shaman can't destroy monsters outside of it's first summon." Hassleberry said.

"Unfortunately, Infernal Dragon is destroyed whenever it attacks, but that just powers my Cyberdark Dragon MORE!" Zane yelled. "Now attack Mudballman!"

With it's Attack raised to 8600, Cyberdark Dragon shot a blast at Mudballman, shattering it.

"I'll end my turn!" Zane yelled.

I drew a card from my deck. The only two cards I had were Common Soul and Fake Hero. I couldn't do anything.

Even if I did have something, my mind wasn't in top shape right now. Was what Zane said true? Could a duelist not remain himself as a Pro? Would I have to either sell my soul or become a villain to make it?

Okay, so, most times, I can handle some pressure. But this was too much. The job I had been dreaming most of my life for. Was it possible Zane was really telling the truth? I tried to convince myself he was lying. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, he had a point. I hated to admit it, but it wasn't like he was entirely wrong. I had heard stories about multiple Pro Duelists being run out for not going along with the crowd. Or that once a trend was over, a Pro quit, not being able to face themselves for what they had done during the trend.

Shaking myself out of my haze, I managed to say "I pass."

"Come on, Slacker!" Chazz shouted. "Get it together!"

"Private Princeton is right!" Hassleberry shouted.

"That's Inspector Princeton!" Chazz shot back.

Thanks to them, I managed to let out a small chuckle.

"You have no time to laugh!" Zane yelled. "Cyberdark Dragon! DARK CYBER STREAM!"

The holographic blast didn't hurt much, but it did drop my Life Points to 3900. What followed was the single worst physical pain I have ever experienced. 8600 Life Points worth of electricity shot through my body. I let out a loud, pained scream, before collapsing on the ground.

"JADEN!" My friends called behind me.

"I... I'm fine..." I said, breathing heavily and pulling myself to my feet.

"After this attack, perhaps." Zane said, with a nasty smirk. "But unless you can defend yourself next turn, you're done for!"

Well, wasn't this just great? Facing down a monster with 8600 Attack Points, two spell cards I couldn't use, my body about to give in to the pain, the knowledge that the Pro League was not what I imagined it to be, and to top it all off, I was gonna fail to save Alexis.

Hope was all I had left. And hope is what I got!

Drawing the top card of my deck, I got Fifth Hope! Oh, this had to be a sign!

"I activate Fifth Hope!" I cried out. "I can return five Elemental Heroes from my graveyard to my deck!"

Sparkman, Bubbleman, Clayman, Wildheart and Necroshade returned from my graveyard to my deck.

"Then I get to draw two cards!" I yelled out.

After shuffling, I drew those two. Neos and Glow Moss! Yes!

"I play Fake Hero!" I called out. "This allows me to special summon an Elemental Hero from my hand, but it can't attack and returns to my hand after this turn! So come out, Neos!"

Neos appeared in front of me. Finally, the hero shows up!

"Now we have a shark man here." Zane said. "What's next? A dolphin?"

"Well, I didn't draw Aquos, but I do have something." I said. "Common Soul! I get to select one monster on the field, summon a Neo-Spacian to the same side of the field as that monster, and the selected monster gains Attack Points equal to the Neo-Spacian's Attack Points! Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, come on out!"

Glow Moss appeared next to Neos on the field, powering him up.

"A clump of moss and a shark man." Zane said. "You expect either to do anything against my Cyberdark Dragon!?"

"Maybe not now, but when they combine? Definitely!" I shouted.

Neos and Glow Moss warped together. Neos gained white armor, along with a lightning bolt javelin!

"That thing only has 2500 Attack Points!" Zane yelled. "Even if it could destroy my monster, when Cyberdark Dragon is destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead!"

"We'll have to do something about that then, huh?" I asked. "I activate Glow Neos' effect! I can destroy one card on your field, and depending on the type of card, Glow Neos can either attack directly, not attack at all or is changed to Defense Mode, for Spells, Monsters and Traps respectively!"

"But once Cyber End Dragon goes to the graveyard, it'll be considered a monster." Syrus said. "Then Glow Neos will go back to Jaden's Fusion Deck." Oh, yeah. It was once called Fusion Deck, not Extra Deck.

"Even without Cyber End Dragon, that Cyberdark Dragon will have 4700." Chazz said. "More than enough to finish off Jaden."

"Who said my target was Cyber End Dragon?" I asked. "I'm going to destroy Cyberdark Dragon itself! Glow Neos! Blue Lightning!"

Glow Neos threw his javelin at Cyberdark Dragon, shattering it.

"NOOOO!" Zane cried out.

"I can't attack now." I said. "So I'll just end my turn."

Glow Neos returned to my Fusion Deck and Zane drew a card.

"What was the Sarge thinking?" Hassleberry asked. "He's out of cards in the hand and on the field."

"No, it actually is brilliant." Chazz said. "Well, for the Slacker. Take a look at Zane's deck."

As Chazz motioned to Zane's Duel Disk, Hassleberry saw what was apparent to everyone else. Zane only had one card left in his deck.

"Slacker only needs to make it through the next two turns." Chazz explained. "Then Zane won't be able to draw another card and he'll automatically lose. Of course, Slacker might get a monster that can beat Zane on his next turn. It doesn't look like Zane has anything that he can summon."

I found out after the fact that the two cards in Zane's hand? Cyber Barrier Dragon and Cyber Laser Dragon. Now that's poetic.

"I end my turn." Zane said, sneering.

I drew a card from my deck. Winged Kuriboh. Well, if my buddy wanted a shot...

"I summon Winged Kuriboh in Attack Mode!" I yelled.

Winged Kuriboh appeared on the field, looked back at me and nodded his head.

"And Jaden's won." Chazz said, smirking.

"Winged Kuriboh, attack!" I called out.

Winged Kuriboh flew towards Zane and smacked him in the face, dropping his Life Points to 900.

"I end my turn!" I said.

Zane drew the last card from his deck and sneered again.

"I summon Cyber Phoenix." Zane said.

Cyber Phoenix appeared before Zane. 1200 Attack Points. Not that it mattered.

"I attack Winged Kuriboh." Zane said.

Cyber Phoenix flew towards Winged Kuriboh and shattered him, but I didn't lose any Life Points, thanks to Winged Kuriboh's effect.

"I end my turn." Zane said.

As I drew Neos, I turned to Zane.

"You know what your problem is, Zane?" I said. "You lost respect for your monsters and your opponents. If you hadn't been so focused on powering up your Cyberdark Dragon to humiliate me, you might have won this. But now? I pass."

The turn moved to Zane, only for the duel to end when he couldn't draw a card. Lightning shot through Zane as the remainder of his Life Points dropped to 0, since he had lost. Zane collapsed on the ground, giving me a brief glance before passing out.

With Zane finally defeated, my body finally gave in to the stress from the past few days, the pain from the electro-shocks and the revelation about the Pro League. Seconds after Zane passed out, I collapsed too. I remained conscious just long enough to hear my friends running over to me.

* * *

I woke up about a day later, in the infirmary. I wasn't the only one in a bed though. I looked to my right, and Syrus was resting in a bed. Turning to my left, I saw Alexis sitting next to me.

"Lex?" I asked weakly. "Are we dead?"

"No." Alexis chuckled with that cute, cute smile of hers. ...Shut up! "You're in the hospital. You've been out for hours now."

"But... how are you here?" I asked. "Zane had kidnapped you."

"After you beat Zane, I was let go." Alexis said.

"How?" I asked.

"I'm not sure myself." Alexis said. "All I know is Chazz eventually met up with me and told me what happened."

"Chazz, huh?" I muttered. "Great... He gets to take all the glory while I was out cold."

"Oh, he told me all about how you managed to outlast Zane's strongest monster in order to save me." Alexis explained.

'Guess he really has had a change of heart.' I thought.

"But that doesn't excuse your condition." Alexis said, poking my arm and causing me to shout in pain.

"What was that for?!" I yelled.

"Losing sleep and stressing out so much you ended up in the hospital!" Alexis said firmly. "What were you thinking?! And using those electrodes?! You could have died!"

"I h-" I started to protest.

I say started, because I was immediately cut off by Alexis' lips. I just stared in shock as it happened.

"Thanks for saving me again." Alexis whispered after the kiss.

"Uh... right..." I said, still stunned. I shook off the shock quickly though. "So, how are the others doing?"

"Syrus is okay." Alexis said, pointing over to Syrus. "He'll probably be out by tonight. He just needs a little sleep."

"What about Atticus and Chancellor Sheppard?" I asked.

"Atti is already out." Alexis explained. "My brother's tougher than he looks. I haven't heard much about Chancellor Sheppard, but Miss Fontaine said he'll probably need to remain bedridden until the new school year. He's not in his prime anymore."

"Great..." I groaned. "We're stuck with Crowler for another month or so..."

Rolling my eyes, I happened to notice bandages wrapped around Alexis' arm.

"Lex!" I cried out. "You're injured!"

"Hm?" Alexis said, then realized I saw the bandages. "Oh, these? They're nothing."

"But... Did they hurt you?" I asked.

"Nothing too bad." Alexis said. "Zane just used a piece of glass to cut my arm, that's all."

Say what you will about my intelligence, but I quickly put this one together. "So, the piece of glass was to trip us up!"

However, while I may have realized that fast, another thought just entered my head after the fact.

"Hey, where were you being held anyway?" I asked.

"I dunno." Alexis said with a sigh. "I was blindfolded after Zane knocked me out. I didn't get the chance to remove the blindfold until after you beat Zane, and even then, I was just in the forest."

"Knocked out and woke up in the forest, huh?" I asked. "I know that feeling."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Alexis said, reaching into her pocket. "Hassleberry asked me to give this to you when you woke up."

Alexis held out my Neos card.

"He said it was the last card you drew in your duel." Alexis said.

I smiled.

"Yeah." I said. "Neos really came through for me this time."

"And you came through for me." Alexis said. "Don't worry about not being there to rescue me. You're still my hero."

My expression grew slightly darker at that.

'Hero, huh?' I thought.

Zane had said heroes were dead. Even if that's a standard villain speech, it still didn't sit well with me that he might have had a point. Soon I'd be entering my third year at Duel Academy. One more year before going Pro. When that happened, would I be called on to defend a cheater? To vilify an honorable duelist?

Well, seeing as how I would be in the nurse's office for another week, I could use that time to think over that little problem.

* * *

After that, things went back to normal. Well, normal for Duel Academy, at least. Or, I'd like to say that... But the night after I woke up, Chazz visited me in the infirmary.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting up as Chazz sat down in a chair by my bed.

"We have a problem." Chazz said.

"What?" I asked.

"Zane couldn't have been the only one behind this." Chazz said. "You heard him say it himself. He had someone helping him."

"Well, yeah." I said. "I assumed it was his manager or something."

"Maybe." Chazz said. "But he still managed to break into Aster's room. It would take someone of really high standing to do that. Someone who had connections, or who had some power over the situation, or something. There's still to many unanswered questions to this mystery. I hate to say it, but this case isn't closed."

Yeah, even after I had confronted the villain and saved the day, things still weren't over. Zane had an accomplice and we needed to find out who it was.

* * *

Author's Note: So, remember when I said that I lied when I said I changed the kidnapper? THAT WAS A LIE! Or, at least, a half truth. Zane was the sole kidnapper in the original version of Missing. But while he remained a kidnapper in Missing You, there is no kidnapper. There's kidnapper**s**. Gotta love those exact words!

Unlike Breaking the Society's Hold, this isn't going to be five chapters. This whole kidnapping thing is going to be settled within Missing You, before we move on to the third fic in this series. So, have fun speculating who the accomplice is. If you have any interesting theories, let me know, either through a PM or a review.

Speaking of this series as a whole, I found out there's a series of books called "The Hero Series". At least by the fans. Since that's out the window, what do you guys think of "The Fool Series", referring to Jaden's Tarot card?


	6. The Mystic Truth Revealed

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, nor any of the characters from it. However... Well, read the Author's Note at the end for an explanation.

* * *

Author's Note: Again, I'd like to thank the reviewers.

* * *

It was Duel Monster Spirit Day! Hooray! And thanks to the festivities, I was let out of the nurse's office early! I wish I could have been enjoying it more, but Chazz, Atticus and I were having a meeting outside the Slifer dorm.

"So, if Zane didn't do this alone, who helped him?" I asked.

"Did you two have any other friends who might have helped, did you?" Chazz asked, looking at Atticus.

"We had a roommate." Atticus said. "But he went missing sometime ago." Aw, great! Now I'm gonna have to duel some other insane maniac who wants to prove he's the best in order to save that guy!

"Darn it!" Chazz said, kicking the railing of the Slifer dorms (and taking a chunk of wood off). "If only Zane would wake back up."

"Do you have any suspects?" Atticus asked.

"Yes and no." Chazz said. "There are plenty of people who would want to get at Slacker."

"Crowler, Blair, Chazz..." I listed off.

"Hey!" Chazz yelled. "I made it clear that there WAS a second person involved! Why would I open a closed case if I'm innocent?"

"Yeah, maybe you have a point." I said.

"Maybe nothing!" Chazz yelled.

Atticus and I just laughed.

"Well, I wish I could be more help." Atticus said. "But there isn't a single person I can think of who would want to go to such extremes to help Zane. Now, if you two don't mind, I've got photos to take."

Atticus held up a camera.

"Where do you get those anyway?" Chazz asked.

"I had to force this from a Third Year." Atticus said, then smiled. "Sometimes it's good to be an eighteen year old Second Year!"

Laughing like a madman, Atticus just walked off.

"He's like a bully who took a kid's lunch money just so he could buy the picture of a girl he liked." Chazz said.

"You sound like you speak from experience." I joked.

"Shut up!" Chazz said, blushing. Yeah, he'd done it before.

Before we could get into one of our trademark arguments, we saw a vision of loveliness walk up. Well, Chazz saw a vision of loveliness. I saw my girlfriend in a Harpie Lady costume. Again.

"Okay, Chazz." Alexis said. "Changing room is yours."

"I still don't get why Syrus insists we wear the same costumes as last year." Chazz growled.

"He says it's so that Dark Magician Girl will recognize us." Alexis said with a laugh.

Yeah, I wasn't kidding. He'd do it next year too! Okay, so that day didn't exactly end all that well, but hey, it's the thought that counts. ...Wait, what was I talking about?

Oh, right! So, Chazz went off to get changed, while Alexis walked over.

"He hasn't made you change yet?" Alexis asked.

"According to him, I have to stay out of costume." I explained. "Since I dueled Dark Magician Girl without it on, she'd recognize me without the costume."

"Lucky you." Alexis said with a sigh. "Jasmine, Mindy and I were planning to go as the Cyber Angels."

And consider my interest piqued.

"So, who would be who?" I asked.

"Mindy was gonna be Benten." Alexis explained. "Jasmine would be Dakini."

"Isn't Benten your signature..." I started, before realizing. "Wait, that means you planned to go as..."

"Idaten, yeah." Alexis said.

Now, I'll admit, since admitting my feelings for Alexis, I got more in touch with my hormones. So, blushing at the thought of Alexis wearing that outfit was simply because teenage hormones. Yeah...

* * *

Anyway, eventually, all the changing was done. Syrus in a big pink bow tie, Chazz as XYZ-Dragon Cannon, Bastion as Amazoness Tiger. But someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Hassleberry?" Alexis asked, looking around.

"Right here!" A voice bellowed out from behind us.

We turned around to see quite the sight. A human sized tyrannosaurus with a bandanna and dreadlocks! Okay, really, it was Hassleberry in a tyrannosaurus costume, with a plastic tyrannosaurus mask over his face, and the bandanna on over that.

"H-Hassleberry?" I asked in shock.

"What are you even supposed to be?" Chazz asked.

"Oh." Hassleberry said, lifting the mask. "Well, I had this dream a few weeks ago that the Dino-DNA in me awakened and I turned into a dinosaur and went into space to fight a satellite with the Sarge's Neos."

"That sounds ridiculous." Bastion said. "For starters..."

"That's amazing, Hassleberry!" I cried out.

"You think?" Hassleberry said, then smirked at Syrus. "See, the Sarge finds the idea of me fighting alongside his monster amazing!"

"Yeah, well, we need to go find the Dark Magician Girl!" Syrus yelled.

"Oh, before you go." Bastion started.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Have you gotten any new leads on your case?" Bastion asked.

"No." Chazz and I sighed.

"We can't even ask Zane." Chazz groaned.

"Why not?" Bastion asked, shocked.

"Miss Fontaine had to fly him out to an actual hospital." I explained.

"She found a problem with his heart." Chazz told the others.

"Is he gonna okay?!" Syrus asked. Whoops. Forgot we weren't supposed to say anything to Syrus just yet...

"Of course." I said, chuckling. "Your brother will be just fine and then we can have him arrested for kidnapping."

Syrus looked really worried now.

"Uh, hey, let's go look for Dark Magician Girl." I said, chuckling nervously. "I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on."

* * *

I quickly rushed off with Syrus following behind me. The poor guy was suffering worse than I had. Zane might have shaken my dream, but Syrus just lost his idol. Not to mention he had worn the same shock-collars I did, and was definitely not as strong physically as I was. I didn't want his spirit to be broken.

"Ooh! I think I see her!" Syrus shouted.

Turns out, "her" was Magician's Valkyria. Not even someone dressed as Magician's Valkyria! A hologram! A guy dressed as Rapid-Fire Magician was dueling a guy dressed as Marauding Captain.

"First you give away my camera, now you stop my attacks?!" The Marauding Captain yelled.

"Hey, we're almost out of here." The Rapid-Fire Magician said. "I'm giving the students here a few gifts. A good duel to end the year on, and a break from your incessant blackmail."

"Give ME the gift of my Dark Magician Girl!" Syrus yelled.

The two duelists looked at Syrus, a little freaked out.

"Uh, sorry, I don't have that card." Rapid-Fire said.

"I hear only the King of Games, Yugi Muto has it." Captain said.

"That's not what I meant..." Syrus groaned.

"Hey, Sy, I know you wanna find your girl, but you can't just go interrupting duels." I said.

Syrus looked up at me with those big saucer eyes starting to tear up. Aw, come on, Sy!

"Uh... Oh! I got it!" I shouted. "That girl was dressed like the Dark Magician Girl. She must be a fan of Spellcasters! Maybe she'll be watching this duel!"

Okay, so she wasn't technically dressed as the DMG, she WAS the Dark Magician Girl. Still, maybe seeing someone use some of her buddies would attract her to the area.

* * *

That being said, we searched the crowd. Not one Dark Magician Girl. Not even Dorothy! Though, admittedly, that was because Syrus insisted she not wear the costume. When she was insulted, Syrus played it off as saying he didn't want the Dark Magician Girl to think anyone was trying to copy her. Smooooth...

"Who are you looking for?" Someone said in a cutesy manner behind us.

Turning around, Syrus and I saw Blair, in a wedding dress and veil. Also she had dyed her hair brown. Or, at least was wearing a wig. The style looked a lot like hers.

'Oh, great.' I thought to myself. 'Time to apologize...'

"You haven't seen a Dark Magician Girl around here, have you?!" Syrus asked quickly.

"Uh... That way..." Blair said, pointing away.

Syrus darted off in that direction.

"She's here?" I asked, looking around.

"Nope!" Blair said, cheerfully. "But it gives us time alone together."

"Uh... You still want time alone with me?" I asked. "But all that stuff I said..."

"Oh, you were stressed and without sleep." Blair said. "Even now, you don't look that well."

"It's that obvious?" I asked, getting a nod back from Blair.

"But never mind that." Blair said. "Now you get to be with your lovely bride."

"Uh... Blair, look, the Maiden in Love-equipped with Happy Marriage costume is good and all, but I'm still way too old for you." I said. "Besides, I'm dating Alexis."

"Oh, yeah." Blair said, a little grumpily. "I was annoyed when I saw her back."

"Yeah, well, Zane is the one who kidnapped her." I said. "Maybe you can go after him again."

"Zane kidnapped her?" Blair asked, not in shock, but confusion.

"Yeah." I said. "Why do you think I've been in the hospital for the past few days? The guy uses these shock-collars when he duels. Seems to get a kick out of them."

Blair seemed to blush for a minute. What the heck was going through her head? After a few seconds, she shook whatever thoughts she was having right out of her head.

"But he's not the one who let her go." Blair said.

"Uh... What did you just say?" I asked.

"He wasn't the one who put her in the forest." Blair said.

"I... never said anything about the forest." I pointed out.

"I know." Blair nodded. "I was there when Alexis was dropped off."

"And you didn't say anything!?" I shouted in disbelief.

"Well, I thought you managed to save her, and the kidnapper was letting her go." Blair said.

"You know who Zane's accomplice is!?" I asked.

"Yep!" Blair said with a wink. "But I won't tell you."

"What?!" I asked.

"You wanna know, it's gonna have to be like before." Blair said. "Duel me for the answer!"

"Alright!" I said. "Get your game on!"

"And if I win, you have to break up with Alexis and start dating me." Blair said.

"Uh... Deal!" I said.

Okay, maybe I was being hasty. But I wanted an answer, and I beat Blair's Maiden in Love before. And now I even had Neos! All I needed to do was get Flare Neos on the field, power him up, everything would be fine.

* * *

Blair and I stood in a small dueling arena drawn on the ground in chalk. My friends stood behind me as many people crowded around to watch.

"Alright, Blair!" I shouted. "No funny business! You better not have been taking a shot in the dark!"

"Oh, I promise on my love for you, Jaden, that I'm telling the truth." Blair said.

"That's why I doubt it!" I said.

"Oh, Jaden, you're so mean." Blair said, faking like she was crying.

"Hey!" A Vanity's Ruler in the crowd yelled. "Lay off! She's just a little kid!"

"Yeah!" An Allure Queen LV5 yelled. "Just let her duel! Don't try to psych her out!"

As everyone shouted at me, Zane's words suddenly returned to my mind.

* * *

"It's terrible! You can't be yourself! You have to be whatever the crowd wants! If you don't, you're thrown under the bus! You can't even complain to those vultures! Oh, sure, even when I'd had a terrible day, there were people who had it worse! People who manipulate others into feeling bad for them, even if all of it was lies! BUT IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP! HEROES ARE DEAD!"

* * *

Last year, the Dark Magician Girl had been playing the crowd too. They were on her side. I didn't mind. After all, sometimes people aren't gonna root for you. I've accepted that. But this year? This is what Zane described the Pro League as being like. If I went up against a little kid while being a Pro, would I have to sell my honor out and throw the match? If I didn't, would people hate me?

I was a mental wreck, and my friends noticed.

"What's wrong with Jaden?" Bastion asked.

"It's what Zane said during their duel." Chazz explained.

As Chazz explained to Bastion what I just got through explaining to you, Alexis walked forward.

"Enough!" Alexis shouted to the crowd. "Jaden's in no condition to be dueling! He's not even supposed to be out of the hospital! So I'll duel in his place!"

The crowd was all a-buzz. And can you blame them? A hot girl in a Harpie's Lady costume was gonna duel! If I wasn't dating her, I'd probably as excited as them too.

"But Lex..." I said.

"Jaden, you've dueled for me how many times now?" Alexis asked. "Let me return the favor."

"Uh... Alright." I said, pulling off my Duel Disk and handing it to her. "But only because my body is killing me."

"Right." Alexis said with a chuckle as she strapped the Duel Disk to her arm. "You're okay with this, right, Blair?"

"Taking down the girl who stole my Jaden from me?" Blair asked. "I've been wanting this forever!"

The two girls put their decks in the Duel Disks.

"DUEL!" They shouted.

"I'll go first!" Blair said, drawing a card from her deck. "I'll set one card face-down and call it a turn."

A face-down appeared in front of Blair.

"My turn!" Alexis said, trying to draw a card from her deck.

Alexis made a few more attempts to draw from her deck, before giving up.

"Just give me a second here." Alexis said, pulling off the talons on her hand. "Stupid talons!"

"No!" Syrus shouted. "What if the Dark Magician Girl doesn't recognize her?!"

"Chill out. They're just talons." Chazz said.

"There we go!" Alexis said, as she drew from her deck. "I'll summon Etoile Cyber in Attack Mode!"

Etoile Cyber appeared between Alexis and Blair.

"Now, let's see if we can spring that trap of yours." Alexis said. "Etoile Cyber, attack Blair directly!"

"And because it's a direct attack, Etoile Cyber's Attack Points go from 1200 to 1800!" I shouted in excitement.

"I don't think so!" Blair said. "I activate Scapegoat!"

Four Sheep Tokens appeared on Blair's field, halting Etoile Cyber's attack.

"In that case, I'll just destroy one of the tokens!" Alexis said.

Etoile Cyber kicked one of the tokens and shattered it.

"I'll end my turn." Alexis said.

Blair drew from her deck and smirked.

"I activate Stray Lamb!" Blair said, summoning two Lamb Tokens to her side of the field. "But they won't stay long. I activate Token Thanksgiving! When this card is activated, I can destroy all the tokens on my side of the field, and I gain 800 Life Points for each of them!"

The tokens were all sucked into a bonfire. As the smoke rose, so did Blair's Life Points. Up to 8000!

"Unfortunately, because I used Stray Lamb, I can't summon a monster this turn." Blair said. "But I can set one."

A face-down monster appeared between Blair and Alexis.

"I'll also set two cards face-down and end my turn." Blair said as two face-down cards appeared in front of her.

"I don't get what Blair's strategy is." Bastion said. "First I thought she was going to build a wall of tokens, but now she's using them to replenish Life Points she hasn't lost yet."

"Hey, hey." I said. "Don't worry about what Blair's doing. Just know Alexis is gonna win this one!"

"I summon Cyber Gymnast in Defense Mode!" Alexis announced.

Cyber Gymnast appeared next to Etoile Cyber, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Now, Etoile Cyber, attack Blair's face-down!" Alexis yelled.

Etoile Cyber made her way across the field and kicked down on the face-down card, shattering an egg.

"Oh... How could you break my egg?" Blair said, fake tears welling up in her eyes.

"You could have at least let it hatch!" Raging Eria yelled.

"How can you be so petty?" Nanobreaker, standing next to the Eria, yelled.

"Petty?!" Alexis snapped, glaring at the crowd. "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Not so fast!" Blair said, as Alexis' face-down appeared on the field. "See, during the End Phase of the turn that Mystic Egg is destroyed, Mystic Baby Dragon, Mystic Baby Knight or Mystic Baby Magician is chosen from my deck at random and summoned to my side of the field!"

As Blair finished explaining, the egg appeared back on Blair's field, whole.

"Come on, Mystic Baby Magician." The Marauding Captain chanted.

"Bring out Mystic Baby Knight and let it get destroyed." Rapid-Fire Magician said.

As it started to shake, it cracked open and a small, green dragon appeared, sitting in the egg. Well, small for a dragon. Etoile Cyber had, like, a head on this thing. Still, it only had 1200 Attack Points and 1600 Defense Points. It'd be no problem for Lex to take out.

"And, I activate Skill Drain!" Blair said, as one of her face-down cards turned face-up. "I pay 1000 Life Points, and all monsters on the field lose their special abilities."

Blair's Life Points dropped to 7000, as an aura surrounded all the monsters on the field and entered the Skill Drain card.

"Now, my turn!" Blair said, drawing a card. "I activate Mystic Revolution! I can select one Mystic Baby monster on my field, and tribute it to summon the adult version! So, Mystic Baby Dragon, time to grow up!"

Almost like it was something out of one of those shows where the hero evolves their partner monster, Mystic Baby Dragon began to glow. It grew larger and larger, until the glow disappeared. The relatively small dragon had now grown into a giant green dragon with sharp fangs and yellow spikes on its head and neck. The egg it once sat in was completely shattered. The ferocious beast had 3600 Attack Points!

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Hassleberry cried out. "Evolution! Yeah! Spacesaurus approves!"

I turned to Hassleberry with a blank look. "We're supposed to be rooting for Alexis."

"Oh, right." Hassleberry said, laughing sheepishly. "Sorry, Sarge."

"Not so fast!" Alexis said. "I activate Taunt!"

Alexis' face-down card turned face-up.

"I can only activate this during your first Main Phase!" Alexis explained. "I can select one of my monsters on the field, and you have to attack it. So I'll pick Cyber Gymnast."

Cyber Gymnast looked at Mystic Dragon, smirked and wagged her hand at it, as if to say "Come and get me!" Mystic Dragon glared at Cyber Gymnast and snorted out rings of smoke. The whole thing was pretty cool.

"How could you do that to her?!" A Chain Thrasher shouted in the crowd.

"You just want to defend your Life Points!" Swift Birdman Joe shouted.

"That's the point of the game!" Alexis cried back.

"It doesn't matter." Blair said. "Mist, attack Cyber Gymnast."

"Mist?" Syrus muttered.

"I guess she nicknames her monsters." I said. "That's actually kind of sweet."

"Boss, what's your nickname for me?" Ojama Yellow asked, rubbing up against Chazz's face.

Chazz growled, before shouting "Annoying!"

Mystic Dragon shot a blast at Cyber Gymnast, shattering her. Thankfully, Alexis' Life Points remained safe.

"And just in case you get any funny ideas..." Blair said, as her last face-down turned face-up. "Wall of Revealing Light! I can pay multiples of 1000 Life Points. Then, no monster on your side of the field with lower Attack Points can attack! Since you probably don't have anything over 4000, I think that should be enough."

Blair's Life Points dropped to 3000, as a wall of light appeared between Etoile Cyber and Mystic Dragon.

"Now I'll end my turn." Blair said.

"Brilliant!" Bastion shouted. "First, she uses her tokens as a simultaneous wall of defense, and as a source of Life Points. Then she brings out a monster with over 3000 Attack Points, and activates Skill Drain to keep it from being destroyed by monster effects. To further protect it, she uses Wall of Revealing Life, and the Life Point bonus from Token Thanksgiving, to keep most monsters from attacking."

"Uh... Yeah, Bastion." I said. "We can all see that."

Crowler walked up then.

"Ooh, a duel." Crowler said. Way to go, Sherlock. "Who's dueling?"

"Alexis and Blair for the Slacker's heart." Chazz said.

"Ah." Crowler said, nodding, before his eyes widened and nearly popped out of his head. "WHAT?!"

"I summon Cyber Petit Angel!" Alexis said.

The metallic Petit Angel appeared on Alexis' field. Y'know, you'd think of all the cards in Alexis' deck, Winged Kuriboh would have a crush on Cyber Petit Angel. He actually likes Cyber Tutu. ...I don't understand it either, but what'd are ya gonna do?

"When Cyber Petit Angel is summoned, I can bring a Cyber Angel Ritual from my deck to my hand!" Alexis called, pulling the card from her deck. "Now, I'll activate it!"

The arena temporarily became a wedding chapel. Kinda fitting, with Blair in the fake wedding dress.

"I'll sacrifice Cyber Petit Angel and Etoile Cyber!" Alexis said.

Cyber Petit Angel and Etoile Cyber both were engulfed in flames.

"Now I can bring Cyber Angel Idaten to the field in Attack Mode!" Alexis called out.

The flames joined as one and Idaten leaped out between Alexis and Blair, glaring at Mystic Dragon.

"Next, I'll equip Idaten with Ritual Weapon!" Alexis called out.

Idaten's one arm turned into a beam sword. Her Attack Points rose from 1600 to 3100!

"It doesn't matter." Blair said. "Your monster is still weaker than mine!"

"You're right, Blair." Alexis said. "All I can do is set one card face-down and end my turn."

A card appeared in front of Alexis.

"My turn!" Blair yelled. "Mist, wipe out Alexis' monster and show her how useless it is to come between me and my true love!"

Mystic Dragon shot a blast at Idaten. Alexis just smirked.

"I activate Doble Passe!" Alexis declared. "This card turns your attack against Idaten into a direct attack!"

Idaten jumped out of the way, as Alexis got hit with Mystic Dragon's blast, dropping her Life Points to 400.

"Now, my monster is allowed to attack you directly!" Alexis called out.

"What?" Blair asked, looking completely stunned.

Idaten charged past Mystic Dragon to Blair, and swung the beam sword at her. Blair's Life Points dropped to 0!

Alexis lifted two fingers to her head and pointed them at Blair. "And that's game!" I smiled and couldn't have been more proud to see my girlfriend use my winning pose like that!

Blair dropped to her knees.

"Why..." Blair muttered. "Why doesn't Jaden love me?"

Cue the crowd giving me dirty looks.

"Blair, sweetie..." Alexis said, ditching the Duel Disk and walking over to console Blair.

Alexis began rubbing Blair's back, only to have her arm smacked away.

"Don't touch me!" Blair said, with tears in her eyes.

Alexis grabbed Blair's shoulders and made Blair look at her.

"Listen to me, Blair." Alexis said. "Just because Jaden doesn't love you, that doesn't mean there isn't a boy out there who'll love you with all his heart."

"I don't want another boy!" Blair yelled. "I want Jaden!"

"Blair, sometimes in life, we think we want one thing." Alexis explained. "But, then as we get older, we realize that maybe what we thought we wanted wasn't actually what we wanted at all."

...Anyone else follow that? Because I barely could. Someone explain it to me.

"Back when I was your age, I had a crush on this guy." Alexis said. "But he turned out not to be what I thought he was. And then, I met Jaden. And he just... I don't know. It's hard to explain."

...You're lucky you're awesome, or I'd be insulted. Also, what was that about her having another crush before me?

"Blair, I think you just have a little crush." Alexis said. "Because when you're in love, like I love Jaden... It's just so inexplicable. You feel happy being with this person, and you don't know why. You catch yourself shooting glimpses at him without meaning to. I'm sure there's someone who's made you feel that way, right?"

"Well, maybe one other guy." Blair said.

Alexis smiled and patted Blair on the shoulders. "That's my girl."

"Wow, she's good." Chazz said.

"Yep." I said, smiling. "She really will be a great teacher one day."

"Speaking of teachers." Syrus said, turning to Crowler. "You showed some real compassion yourself, Doctor Crowler."

"Hm?" Crowler asked, looking at Syrus. "You mean by hoping Miss Flannigan would win the Slacker's heart so her parents would invest in the school?"

"No." Syrus said, shooting him a blank look. "I mean asking Aster to give Alexis a place to stay after Chazz kicked her out of his room."

"Yeah, you've got yourself a real heart of gold buried under those frills." Hassleberry said, patting Crowler on the back.

"I asked Aster to give Alexis a room?" Crowler asked, tilting his head to the side. "I never did such a thing."

"There's no need to act so humble about it, Doctor Crowler." Syrus said.

"I'm telling the truth." Crowler said, looking genuinely confused about the whole thing.

"So, Blair, you said you'd tell us who it was that released me in the forest?" Alexis asked.

Before Blair could answer, someone else did for her.

"I did."

Everybody looked around for the source of the voice. A figure began making his way through the crowd. Wearing a tight green bodysuit, with shining white armor over his body. On his back where two metal wings, and his face was obscured by a spiky, white helmet. Altogether, the costume was of Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer.

* * *

Author's Note: So, I took a few artistic liberties in this duel with Blair's deck. For the duels in the Fool series, or the remakes at least, I've been using the Yu-Gi-Oh wikia to see which cards each character has, and even try to keep the cards in their deck consistent for each season, if available. Obviously, there were a few justified cases where someone used cards they don't otherwise have in the actual series. In Breaking the Society's Hold, Alexis let Jaden "borrow" Hallowed Life Barrier, and Atticus convinced Jaden to use Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai. And, of course, the duel between Jaden and Chazz was based off their original duel.

However, not much of Blair's deck is seen in the anime, and things like the effects of Mystic Baby Dragon and Mystic Dragon are unknown. I decided to have Blair use Skill Drain to keep from any of the field effects being used. She doesn't actually use this card in the show, even in Season 4, but it was either give Blair a card that could see some good use in quite a few decks AND keep from revealing Mystic Dragon's effect, or create an effect. Since I try to keep original creations to a minimum, I chose the former. Even if it's unlikely these cards will ever be released in the real game, I'd rather play it safe. Similarly, she doesn't use Wall of Revealing Light on the show, but did apparently have it in a video game, and again, can be put in most decks without worry.

Now, while I did just finish saying how I don't like putting original creations in these fics, I did put in a few references to my old GX RP days. The Rapid-Fire Magician and Marauding Captain cosplayers are references to two old OCs of mine. One was described as looking like Rapid-Fire Magician and the other as Marauding Captain. The former is actually why, whenever I need a random monster for some no-name to be using, I pick Rapid-Fire Magician. Don't worry, though. They're mere cameos and won't be involved in the plot. Likewise, Blair calling Mystic Dragon "Mist" is a reference to an old GX/Digimon Savers crossover RP I did, where Blair's partner monster was Mystic Baby Dragon, but she affectionately referred to him as "Mist", due to the long name. Similarly, Jaden's comment about Winged Kuriboh having a crush on Cyber Tutu? Also from there. Once again, these things are just small references I put in for the nostalgia value, and not meant to be seen as anything major.


	7. Neos Vs The Ultimate Destiny Hero

Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer stood behind Blair and Alexis. As if he was fooling anyone. It was Aster under that mask, for sure.

"But why?" I asked, trying my best to be serious. What? Even with all that had happened, Aster wearing that goofy costume to try to hide his identity? It was hilarious!

"Duel me and you'll have your answers." Aster said.

"You're on!" Chazz and I said at the same time.

"Wait, what?" I asked, looking at Chazz.

"Jaden, you're still recovering." Chazz said. "Besides, I'm the detective on this case. Let me apprehend the criminal."

Wow. If there was any doubt before, it had all vanished now. Chazz was honestly dueling to help us. He'd never admit it, but he actually did consider us friends.

"No way, guys." Alexis said. "This guy helped kidnap me. Let me handle it."

"Chazz Princeton and Alexis Rhodes, neither of you will duel me." Aster said. "My target is Jaden Yuki."

"We finally get to put our heroes against each other, huh?" I asked, cracking my knuckles. "My Neos against the final Destiny Hero?"

Aster just activated his Duel Disk in response.

"Guys, let me handle this." I said. "Aster and I finally have to settle things."

"Did you have to say my name?!" Aster shouted. "I was wearing this mask for a reason, dude!"

Growling, Aster pulled off the mask and tossed it to the side.

"Sorry, man." I said, rubbing the back of my head and laughing sheepishly.

Aster just groaned in annoyance, while Alexis and Blair stepped away from the field. Alexis removed her deck from the Duel Disk and handed it to me.

"Do your best." Alexis whispered, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

This was naturally followed by the clicking of a camera. Atticus. But we ignored that for now.

"Get your game on, Aster!" I called out, strapping on the Duel Disk and inserting my deck.

"Duel!" Aster and I yelled as I activated my Duel Disk.

"You can go first." Aster said.

"Thanks." I said, drawing a card. "I summon Dark Catapulter, and lay down two face-downs!"

Catapulter appeared between Aster and me, while two cards appeared in front of me.

"I end my turn!"

"I play Polymerization!" Aster shouted, holding up the card. "I'll fuse the Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer!"

Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on Aster's field, warped together and became Phoenix Enforcer. ...Flame Wingman looks cooler!

"Attack Dark Catapulter!" Aster called.

Phoenix Enforcer jumped through the air and slashed his claws at Sparkman, destroying him. My Life Points dropped to 2900.

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn!" Aster called, as a card appeared in front of him.

"My turn!" I said. "First, I'll use Pot of Greed!"

I drew two cards and smirked.

"Now, I'll play my Polymerization and fuse my Avian and Burstinatrix as well!" I said. "Into Flame Wingman, of course!"

Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on my field and fused to Flame Wingman.

"Now, Wingman, attack Phoenix Enforcer!" I yelled.

"But that's ridiculous!" Aster said. "They both have 2100 Attack Points and Phoenix Enforcer can't be destroyed by battle!"

Flame Wingman shot a blast of fire at Phoenix Enforcer, who batted it away with the swing of a hand. Phoenix Enforcer counterattacked by leaping at Wingman and shoving his claws through him. Wingman shattered.

"I activate Hero Counterattack and chain Change of Hero - Reflector Ray!" I called out, my two face-downs turning face-up. "When an Elemental Hero Fusion Monster is destroyed by battle, Reflector Ray does damage to your Life Points, equal to the destroyed monster's Level, times 300!"

Aster got hit for 1800 damage, dropping his Life Points to 2200!

"Now, Counterattack goes!" I said. "You have to pick a card in my hand, and if it's an Elemental Hero, I can summon it out and destroy one monster on your field! And since I only have one..."

Clayman appeared on the field, dashing over to Phoenix Enforcer and punching him, shattering him. Clayman then floated back to my side of the field, crossing his arms.

"I'll end my turn." I said.

"I'll play Card of Sanctity." Aster said.

"Pretty generous of you to let us both draw cards." I said, as we both drew six cards.

"I'm not trying to help you." Aster said. "The only other card I have in my hand can't be summoned."

Well, that doesn't sound good.

"I summon Destiny Hero - Celestial to the field in Attack Mode!" Aster said.

A hero clad in a black and red costume, with a shield of some sorts on it's back, appeared in front of Aster. 1600 Attack Points. That thing couldn't destroy Clayman!

"That thing can't destroy Clayman!" I called out. Hey! Quit copying me!

"Not yet." Aster said. "I activate D - Chain!"

Aster's face-down turned face-up, as Celestial gained a chain with a blade on the end.

"This card gives my Destiny Hero 500 extra Attack Points!" Aster yelled. "Attack Clayman!"

Celestial swung the chain at Clayman, the blade going right through him, and stabbing me in the foot. Well, okay, not actually stabbing me, because hologram, but you get the idea! My Life Points dropped to 2400.

"When a monster equipped with D - Chain destroys a monster and sends it to the graveyard, you lose 500 Life Points!" Aster yelled. "Now, I'll set a card and end my turn."

A card appeared in front of Aster.

"I summon Bubbleman!" I called out.

Bubbleman appeared on my field.

"Now, I'll use Metamorphosis to change Bubbleman to Neo Bubbleman!" I yelled.

Bubbleman changed to his upgraded version, before gaining a larger water cannon.

"I equip Neo Bubbleman with Bubble Blaster!" I said. "Now, Neo Bubbleman, attack Celestial!"

Neo Bubbleman shot a blast of water from his cannon at Celestial, who tossed the chain at the cannon. Celestial and Bubble Blaster were both destroyed.

"If Bubbleman would be destroyed when equipped with Bubble Blaster, Blaster is destroyed instead, and all battle damage goes to 0!" I said. "And when Neo Bubbleman attacks a monster, that monster is destroyed! Now, I'll set one card and end my turn!"

A card appeared in front of me.

"I summon Captain Tenacious." Aster called. "Attack Neo Bubbleman!"

Captain Tenacious appeared and hit Neo Bubbleman. Both shattered.

"GO!" Aster and I called out.

His Destiny Signal and my Hero Signal activated. Sparkman appeared on my field, while a large monster with dreadlocks, MASSIVE arms and weird... spirals around his feet, I don't know, appeared on Aster's field. It had 1200 Attack Points.

"Destiny Hero - Dunker!" Aster called out. "Attack Sparkman!"

"But Sparkman will destroy it." I pointed out.

"I discard Destiny Hero - Blade Master!" Aster said. "When this card goes to the grave, every Destiny Hero on my field gains 800 Attack Points!"

Dunker jumped in the air, as blades appeared on the side of it's arms. Dunker smashed his hand down on Sparkman, impaling him with the blade. Sparkman shattered as my Life Points dropped to 2000.

"Now, I activate Dunker's effect!" Aster called. "I can discard one Destiny Hero, like my Disk Commander here, and inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points!"

My Life Points dropped to 1500.

"I'll end my turn!" Aster said.

"I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart!" I called out.

My wild boy jumped to the field and glared at Dunker."

"Wildheart, attack Destiny Hero - Dunker!" I yelled.

Wildheart tossed a boomerang at Dunker, shattering him and dropping Aster's Life Points to 1900!

"I'll call it a turn." I said.

"I'll summon Destiny Hero - Fear Monger in Defense Mode!" Aster yelled.

Fear Monger appeared on Aster's field and covered his face with his armored... arms. Huh.

"Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn." Aster said.

A card appeared in front of Aster, as I drew a card from my deck.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!" I yelled.

Air Hummingbird appeared on my field and shot me a thumbs up.

"Now, Air Hummingbird!" I yelled. "Use your effect and give me 500 Life Points for each card in Aster's hand!"

If my math has been right, that was only one card. Air Hummingbird flew over, as a flower appeared over Aster's card. Air Hummingbird began drinking from the flower, as my Life Points went back up to 2000.

"Next, I equip Air Hummingbird with Neos Energy!" I said. "This gives Air Hummingbird 800 more Attack Points! Although, he does lose 300 every time my Standby Phase goes by!"

A red aura surrounds Air Hummingbird as he returned to my field.

"Now, Wildheart, attack Fear Monger!" I yelled.

Wildheart, again, threw a boomerang, shattering Fear Monger. Haha!

"Air Hummingbird, attack Aster directly!" I said.

Air Hummingbird flew over to Aster.

"I activate D - Fortune!" Aster yelled. "When you declare a direct attack, I can remove one Destiny Hero from my graveyard to end the Battle Phase!"

Captain Tenacious appeared in front of Aster, halting Air Hummingbird's attack. Air Hummingbird flew back in front of me.

"I end my turn." I said.

Aster drew a card from his deck.

"I activate the effect of my Fear Monger!" Aster yelled. "If he was destroyed since my last Standby Phase, I can summon a monster from my grave!"

A metallic looking hero with CDs strapped to him appeared on Aster's field in Defense Mode. 300 Points in both categories. This wouldn't be hard.

"When Disk Commander is summoned from the grave, I get to draw two cards." Aster said, drawing a card from his deck. "Now, I think I'll draw another two cards. Destiny Draw!"

Aster held up a card. He wasn't calling on on some mystic force to guide his hand.

"I can discard one Destiny Hero to draw two more cards." Aster said, putting a card in his graveyard and drawing two cards from his deck. "And the card I sent to the grave was Destiny Hero - Malicious! I can remove one copy from my graveyard to summon another from my deck!"

A demonic-looking hero appeared on Aster's field.

"Now, I'll summon Destiny Hero - Defender!" Aster said, as the monster appeared on his field. "Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

So, Aster had a demon with 800 Defense, a DJ with 300 Defense and a football player with 2700 Defense that lets me draw an extra card. What was Aster trying to do?

I drew a card from my deck during my Draw Phase, then another during my Standby Phase.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab!" I called out, as my bug buddy appeared next to my bird buddy and my... Shoot, there's no way I can describe Wildheart with a B! "Next, I activate Fake Hero! This lets me summon one Elemental Hero from my hand, though it can't attack and returns to my hand at the end of the turn."

My Bladedge buddy appeared next to my bug buddy. ...Yeah, the joke is dead, huh?

"Now, I activate Gift of the Martyr!" I called out. "This lets me send one monster to the graveyard to increase the attack of another by the first monster's attack points!"

Bladedge disappeared, and Wildheart grew stronger. Up to 4100!

Now, I know what you're gonna say. "Jaden, you magnificently amazing man, how could someone so good at dueling and with such rugged good looks not realize summoning Bladedge instead of Flare Scarab would have won you the duel?" Well, you highly complimentary person, I actually did realize that. But Aster's trap was bothering me. If I summoned Bladedge and it got destroyed, I'd be wide open for an attack. ...That being said, in hindsight, I probably SHOULD have, as you will soon see. Once again, me using my head doesn't go well.

"Now, Air Hummingbird, use Honey Suck!" I yelled.

Air Hummingbird drinks some honey, I get 500 Life Points.

"Wildheart, attack Defender!" I called out.

Wildheart punched Defender, shattering that armored behemoth!

"Flare Scarab, take care of Malicious!" I yelled.

Flare Scarab shot a molten blast at the demon, sending it right back to fire and brimstone!

"Air Hummingbird, you're up!" I said.

Air Hummingbird flew up and dive bombed Disk Commander, shattering it. Unfortunately, this triggered Aster's trap!

"Destiny Mirage!" Aster yelled. "When a Destiny Hero is destroyed, I can bring back all Destiny Heroes that were destroyed this turn!"

Aster's monsters all returned to the field.

DARN IT! Strategy, you've failed me again! And I was out of cards in my hand too! Ah well. Aster had relatively weak monsters. I could do this!

"I end my turn." I said.

Aster drew a card and smirked.

"I summon Destiny Hero - Plasma!" Aster called.

"Plasma?!" I asked in shocked.

Aster's three monsters disappeared, and in their place stood a man in a blood red costume with pitch black wings.

"This is the final card my father worked on!" Aster yelled. "The card that was stolen from him! The card I finally retrieved! Let's see if your heroes can stand against this, Jaden!"

Strong winds began pulling Wildheart towards Plasma, who folded his wings around my monster.

"What's going on?!" I asked.

"When Plasma is summoned, he absorbs one of my opponent's monsters and gains half their attack points!" Aster said.

Plasma's wings parted, revealing Wildheart was now part of them.

"Now, I activate D - Force!" Aster said, placing the card face-up on the top of his deck. "When this card is activated, it goes to the top of my deck. I can't draw cards during my Draw Phase anymore, but I won't need to. For when D - Force is face-up on my deck, Plasma is unaffected by your spells and traps, and all monsters have their effects negated! Now, Plasma, destroy Flare Scarab!"

Flare Scarab's Attack Points had gone up to 900 when Destiny Mirage was face-down. Now that it was gone, Flare Scarab had gone back to 500, while Plasma now had 2650! All it took was one blast from that thing to destroy Scarab and drop my Life Points to 450. Ooh boy...

"I end my turn." Aster said.

I had one monster on my field with 1300 Attack Points, which would soon dwindle to 1000, and no cards in my hand. Whatever I drew, it'd have to be good.

'Please...' I thought as I drew what might have been the last card of this duel.

My eyes were squeezed shut. Once I opened them, I burst out with a smile. This would do.

"Spy Hero!" I called out. "This card lets me send two cards from my deck to the graveyard. Then I get to add a spell from your grave to my hand."

Neos and Armor Breaker were put in the grave. Then, a card from Aster's graveyard flew to my hand.

"Card of Sanctity!" I called out! "We both draw six cards!"

"What?!" Aster's eyes widen. "But then my D - Force..."

"Won't be on the top of your deck!" I finished for him!

We both drew.

"It doesn't matter!" Aster yelled. "I can use it again next turn!"

"Oh, yeah?" I asked. "First, I'll use Monster Reincarnation! This lets me send one card from my hand to the graveyard to add another card to my hand.

Good-bye, Necroshade. Hello, Neos.

"Now, I'll use the effect of that card I just discarded!" I shouted. "When Elemental Hero Necroshade is in the graveyard, I can summon one Elemental Hero without sacrifice. So say hello to your old friend, Elemental Hero Neos!"

Neos rose on to the field in all his glory. This was gonna be good.

"Next, I'll use R - Righteous Justice!" I said, holding up the card. "I can destroy one spell or trap on your field for the same number of Elemental Heroes I have on my field. So, Neos, set Wildheart free!"

A giant R appeared, and hit Wildheart, who was now being used as an Equip Spell, destroying him and freeing him from Plasma!

"Now, I Contact Fuse Neos and Air Hummingbird!" I said.

My monsters disappeared into space, before returning as Neos, wearing a body suit made of red feathers, with large white wings on his back.

"Elemental Hero Air Neos!" I yelled. "Attack Plasma!"

"Even if he does have 2500 Attack Points, it isn't strong enough to deplete all my Life Points!" Aster yelled. "Then your field will be empty when that thing returns to your Fusion Deck!"

"Not exactly!" I yelled. "When my Life Points are lower than yours, the difference is added to Air Neos' Attack Points!"

Aster's Life Points: 1900. My Life Points: 450. Again, I'm no math genius, but even I know that's 1450! Now, 2500 plus 1450 is 3950, right? And 3950 minus 1900, Plasma's Attack Points, would be 2050, definitely more than Aster had!

Air Neos flew through into the sky, before coming down and punching Plasma! Aster's Life Points dropped right to 0!

"That's game!" I said, doing my winning pose.

Aster fell to his knees and sighed.

It was only after the duel finished that I suddenly heard everyone cheering for us.

"YEAH!"

"Way to go!"

"That was the best duel ever!"

This wasn't my friends either. It was the crowd! Not to say my friends didn't join in.

"I must say, you two used quite a few clever combos." Bastion nodded.

"Yeah, but the Slacker could have won if he just summoned Bladedge." Chazz said. "He didn't have to put on a spectacle for everyone."

"I guess that was a pretty good duel for Duel Monster's Spirit Day." Crowler said.

"Sarge, you did great!" Hassleberry cheered.

"Aster was pretty cool too!" Blair said. Looks like someone has a new crush! YES!

"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus said.

I looked over to Alexis.

"Well?" I asked. "Didn't I tell you I could do it?"

"Yeah." Alexis said, smiling. "You were pretty good out there. I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Aw, sure you could have." I said. "If you had a deck as awesome as mine."

As I indulged in a bit of an obnoxious laugh, Aster groaned.

"I really lost..." Aster muttered.

We all turned our attention back to him. Aster's dad's final creation just got beaten. In front of the whole crowd. And they all heard how he had been the one to kidnap Alexis. I wanted answers, but I didn't want this crowd to suddenly tear Aster to pieces. Zane's words were still on my mind.

"Aster, that was fantastic!" I said. "You played your role great!"

"Role?" Aster asked, confused.

"Hey, no need to keep up the act!" I said. "Everyone probably figured out by now that this was a show! All of it was planned! We have Alexis hang low for a few days, play up like she was kidnapped, then have you revealed as the kidnapper. Like that could really happen."

Syrus was the first to catch on.

"Right!" Syrus said, walking up next to me. "This was all planned by yours truly. After Jaden's duel with that amazing Dark Magician Girl last year, I wanted something extra special this year! So I asked Alexis and Aster for help! It's the dramatic story of a man who saves his lover from a rogue hero gone bad."

"Yeah, I was gonna dress up like Shining Flare Wingman, but SOMEONE didn't allow it." I said, glaring at Sy.

"Well, I didn't think far enough ahead to get the costume." Syrus said.

Everyone else quickly took their turn, helping to spin our web of deceit. ...Wow, that makes ME sound like the villain now. Huh. Anyway, once we finished up, the crowd gave us a round of applause. We all did a bow, even Aster. Granted, I had to force him to, for the act. But still!

* * *

Once we were done, Syrus, Hassleberry, Chazz, Alexis, Atticus, Blair, Crowler and I all went to the card shop with Aster, so he could explain himself in private. Bastion had opted to stay behind and keep everyone else busy, so no one would intrude.

"Why'd ya do it?" Chazz asked, grilling Aster.

"He won't talk, Boss." Ojama Yellow said.

"Fine then." Chazz said, turning around. "Dorothy! Get this guy a sandwich!"

"Miss Dorothy isn't even here." Syrus said.

"Regardless, we can't overlook this." Crowler said. "Aster, as much as I'd like to expel the Slifer Slacker and keep you here forever, we simply can't overlook a kidnapping case."

"I didn't kidnap anyone." Aster said.

"But you said you did!" Hassleberry growled.

"And I saw you letting Alexis go in the forest." Blair said.

"You saw me releasing Alexis." Aster said. "And I confessed to letting her go. But I wasn't part of the kidnapping. At least, not directly."

"What do you mean, not directly?" I asked.

"I had been called to take part in an Underground duel against Zane." Aster explained. "I guess once he heard I got the ultimate Destiny Hero, he wanted to try his new deck out against mine. He said it wasn't a matter of revenge, but a matter of proving he was stronger than me at my best."

"Sounds like him." Crowler said, nodding. "At least, the new him.

"He made me wear those electrodes." Aster continued on. "I guess I wasn't as strong as I thought, because those things knocked me out."

"Finally, something Mr. Perfect can't handle." Alexis said.

"You mean Zane beat you?" Atticus asked.

"No." Aster said. "There was no conclusion. I was knocked out before we could end it. But, if the duel had continued, I would have used Plasma to absorb his Cyberdark Dragon and finish him with a direct attack. Anyway, once I woke up, I noticed my cell phone had been removed from my pocket."

Aster tapped the pocket on his jacket.

"It was next to my body, but someone had gotten the code to my old room." Aster explained. "I guess Zane had been keeping tabs on our movements here on Academy Island and knew Alexis was staying there now. I'm not even entirely sure. But I knew something was wrong, so I made my way back here as fast as I could. That's when you arrived."

"And?!" I asked. "You didn't tell me it was Zane because...?"

"I was worried he might have been listening in." Aster explained. "He could have planted a bug in the room, or on my phone, or on me while I was knocked out. If he heard me tell you, it might put your girlfriend in danger. I couldn't just risk that. Not after you saved my best friend. I still owed you."

"Aster, you saved Alexis once before." I said. "We were even then. This was too much, man."

"I was just being my usual awesome self then." Aster said, with a nervous chuckle. "But this? This would definitely make us even. So, once I had a body search done on me, eliminating the possibility of Zane spying on me, I began doing my own investigation of the island. Unlike you guys, I have the connections to get a whole unit out here to investigate."

Chazz crossed his arms and looked away from Aster.

"We eventually found where they were holding Alexis." Aster explained. "They were holding her under the floor of Zane's old dorm room."

"I thought I heard footsteps coming from above." Alexis said. "But I thought it was just sensory deprivation."

"Once I got her out, I left her in the forest." Aster said. "I set things up so the ropes around her would come undone by the time I was gone. I didn't want anyone thinking I had been the accomplice."

Cue several of us shooting Blair a look.

"Hey! Hey!" Blair shouted, waving her hands in front of her face, defensively. "You'd have thought the same thing if you were in my situation!"

"But if Aster wasn't the accomplice, who was?" Crowler asked.

"Yeah." Hassleberry nodded. "Private Truesdale's defector of a brother said himself that he had an ally."

"I can answer that." Aster said. "While I was busy releasing Alexis in the forest, my team was busy arresting the accomplice. It was Zane's manager. A man named Shroud."

"Wait, there's still one thing I don't get." Syrus said. "If you weren't the accomplice, why did you let us think you were?"

"Jaden duels his best when he's fighting for his friends." Aster explained. "I wanted him at his best when we pit our Ace Monsters against each other. I wanted to know which of us really was the best Hero user. I didn't want there to be any excuses, like he wasn't dueling his best. That's the reason I only confronted him about it today. This was the first day he was out of the hospital."

"Aster, buddy, you should know I always give my everything in a duel!" I said. "I never hold back! Heck, today, I actually did end up overthinking, and I missed an easy win because of it!"

"Right..." Aster muttered. "You're not like me. You don't look down on your opponents."

"Hey, don't say that about yourself." I said. "You don't do that." Well, anymore. But I wasn't about to say that in front of him.

"Well, if that's all." Crowler said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Mr. Phoenix!"

Whoa! Crowler calling Aster "Mr. Phoenix" instead of his first name. Something was wrong here!

"Y-Yes, sir?" Aster said. Even he was shocked. Wow.

"I'm still not entirely convinced of this story." Crowler said. "However, I will put you on probation until I can verify whether your claims are true or not. I'm sure, if you're telling the truth, you will be able to introduce me to this team that you had helping you in your investigation. Until then, I will be talking with Nurse Fontaine to see if we can get in contact with Zane and verify the claims that this 'Shroud' character actually exists. Mr. Yuki, I'm sure you and your group can see to it Aster returns to his room."

"You got it, Dr. C!" I called as Crowler walked out.

I gotta admit, when Crowler goes into "teacher" mode, he really is inspiring.

Since we were all done our questioning, Hassleberry, Chazz and I made sure to see Aster to his room, while Atticus, Syrus and Blair played bodyguard to Alexis, protecting her from any assassins Aster might send. Or, at least, that's what Atticus claimed. He probably just wanted to ask when we started kissing.

* * *

Things were pretty quiet for the rest of the year. Of course, things had been pretty crazy since I realized my feelings for Alexis. Things were even crazier after we started dating. I mean, I didn't even get into when a rogue Industrial Illusions employee came to the island to duel us students! ...Yeah, I'll tell you about that one some other time.

Aster was found to be innocent. First Crowler got in touch with Industrial Illusions, who Aster claimed had loaned him the manpower. Pegasus himself confirmed the arrest of that Shroud guy Aster mentioned. Then, Miss Fontaine managed to get in touch with the hospital Zane had been sent to, and Zane admitted to the whole thing. Due to his condition, it was decided Zane would have to stay in the hospital. Still, he was getting counseling. So, his mind and heart were getting the help they needed. Aster was let off probation, and allowed to advance to his second year.

As for yours truly? I still needed to take things easy for the rest of the year. I couldn't participate in any duels, which STUNK! I was even the first choice of the student who graduated top of his class! He wanted to beat the guy who beat Zane! I would have been the opponent for the Graduation Duel two years in a row! Sadly, Aster got to be part of the Graduation Duel. Wasn't too bad. He won and all.

That being said, having to take things easy when you and your girlfriend have started kissing has some perks. Like, you get to practice said kissing. My grades also improved, so I didn't have to worry about being held back a year.

"That's a relief." Alexis said, as I told her the same thing.

We were hanging out in her room having one of our... "study" sessions. ...That's code for making-out! Mind outta the gutter, people!

"Yeah." I said, leaning back in my chair. "Next year is gonna be sweet! I hear Blair's decided to come here full time."

"Uh huh?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Now that she's all gaga for Aster, there's no one to stand between you and me!"

"Are you forgetting all the other boys at the Academy?" Alexis laughed.

"Uh... Oh, they don't compare to Chazz, let alone me." I said, proudly.

"Even still, Crowler might not be okay with it." Alexis said.

"Oh, he just runs the Blue Dorms." I said, brushing off the concern. "He has no power over us Reds, now that Chancellor Sheppard is back!"

"You mean you didn't hear?" Alexis asked, eyes wide.

"Hear about what?" I asked. "Chancellor Sheppard is okay, right?"

"Yeah, he's alright." Alexis said. "But he's stepping down as Chancellor next year."

"What?!" I shouted. "Why?! He lets us get away with so much!"

"From what I heard, Zane dueled Sheppard once to get that new deck of his." Alexis explained. "He went after him and, about a week before the kidnapping incident, dueled him with those electrodes. His body couldn't handle it any longer. Add to that the knowledge he wasn't able to help Zane, his former student, and that he put us all in danger with the Spirit Gate Keys and letting the Society of Light take over, he decided to step down. Now Crowler's our full-time Chancellor."

"My life is over..." I said, hanging my head.

"Well, there's some good news." Alexis said, with a chuckle. "I've heard he's going to take the role as Slifer Red Headmaster."

"That's great!" I said excitedly. "Even I'll admit, the dorm has kinda gone down hill since Professor Banner died."

"Personally, I think he should have put Bonaparte in charge." Alexis said. "Making him take care of the dorm he hated so much? What better comeuppance?"

"Did I ever tell you you're hot when you have evil ideas?" I asked, causing Alexis to laugh. "Oh! There's something else I didn't tell you either."

"What?" Alexis asked.

"So, I was at the card shop the other day, and Dorothy was handing out fliers to all the Slifer Reds." I explained. "According to her, four big name students from four other Academies are going to be staying at Duel Academy for a few months. Since they're gonna need a place to stay, they're asking any Slifer's with spare rooms if they can house them for a few days. That whole 'when you transfer here, you start in Slifer' rule. Well, I signed my cabin up for a new roommie!"

"That's great, Jaden!" Alexis said, before she realized something. "Wait, have you told Syrus and Hassleberry yet?"

"Uh... I'll do it soon." I said.

"And what are you going to do about room?" Alexis asked. "You guys were barely able to make room for me."

"Well, I figure we'll take turns rotating." I explained. "One night, I'll sleep on the floor, then Syrus, then Hassleberry, then newbie, then back to me. And if that doesn't work out, I can probably crash somewhere else. I'm sure Chazz has some spare room."

"You could always stay here, if you want." Alexis said.

"They'd never allow that." I pointed out.

"All I need to do is say I need a bodyguard." Alexis said, smiling flirtatiously. Wow, big word for me.

"Then I might just need to take you up on that offer." I said.

My second year at Duel Academy had been pretty crazy. I mean, for one, I went to space! SPACE! I met a military-obsessed part-dinosaur guy who ended up becoming one of my best friends. I fought an evil cult controlled by an evil light possessing a fortune-teller. I dueled the former King of the Academy, using shock-collars, throwing away cards from his deck. I went one-on-one with a fellow Hero user and came out on top after we both got our Ace Monsters. And the weirdest thing of all, I somehow managed to get an amazing, hot, excellent duelist for a girlfriend.

Considering Blair would be joining Duel Academy, I'd get a new roommate and I'd just be a year away from Graduation, I couldn't wait to see what next year would throw at me!

* * *

Author's Note: Another done! I gotta admit, this one was a LOT of fun. More than Breaking at most points. I mean, for one, I got to pull off a pretty good twist to the original by having the Alexis Vs. Blair and Jaden Vs. Aster duels in the last two chapters.

Actually, about those. I originally just planned to go through the original way, and have Jaden and Aster duel each other around the same place as the original Missing, but I realized I could make the duel more climatic by having it at the end. So, I decided to work in Aster as a co-conspirator with Zane, or at least making it look that way to the characters.

Then, since a lot of readers missed Alexis during the events of the original Missing, I figured I'd give her some time to shine after being gone for so long, by having her duel Blair, rather than just having Jaden talk with Blair to wrap up the Blair plotline. Personally, I think it's one of the better things I've done, since I found a way around Blair's Mystic deck not having their effects known, and working that into a legitimate strategy. Pretty cool, even if I do say so myself. I'm very proud of this fic.

Now, some people may wonder how I'm going to handle the Competition remake. After all, since it was the original finale of the Breaking the Hold series, I set it up so the final chapter was put up on New Year's Eve, where the first chapter of Breaking the Hold was put up on New Year's Day that year. Well, who's to say I won't end things with that this time too? You'll just have to wait and see.

Now, what can I tell you about Competition? Well, obviously, it's based on the original Competition, follows along the same continuity was Society's Hold and Missing You... I've started writing out all the duels before I even begin writing the thing, so no big wait between chapters 3 and 4 this time. I'm being honest this time, people. I may have dropped the ball with Missing You, taking a loooong break between chapters, but I've started rewatching GX again. I know I did so during Society's Hold, but now that I'm on a GX kick, I'm getting into JadenXAlexis again. Not that I haven't been into it, but... you get my point. I've already been on a tangent for too long.

Competition. Right. Well, I'll tell you this much. There's gonna be a bit of a game changing surprise in the first chapter.

I also mentioned having some ideas for later. Things that started shaping up in Society's Hold and you can see a few more things here, plus more hints at the things set up in Society's Hold. So, until next month, thanks for reading, reviewing and favoriting this story. Hope you're looking forward to the next one.


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